The FTC says Microsoft has misrepresented itself.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a complaint against Microsoft, saying layoffs at Activision Blizzard misrepresent a pledge for the publisher to operate autonomously.
The FTC has asked for a temporary pause of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard as part of its complaint.
“Microsoft’s recently-reported plan to eliminate 1,900 jobs in its video game division, including in its newly-acquired Activision unit, contradicts the foregoing representations it made to this Court,” reads a portion of the FTC’s complaint.
“Specifically, Microsoft reportedly has stated that the layoffs were part of an ‘execution plan’ that would reduce ‘areas of overlap’ between Microsoft and Activision, which is inconsistent with Microsoft’s suggestion to this Court that the two companies will operate independently post-merger,” it continued.
The complaint comes after Microsoft confirmed it was laying off 1,900 employees across Xbox, Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax. At the time, Microsoft said it was reducing “areas of overlap” between Xbox and Activision Blizzard specifically.
We’ll keep you informed as this story progresses.
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