 "Tech job cut: Microsoft lays off 1,000 employees from mixed reality team")
Microsoft announced that it has laid off 1,000 employees from its mixed reality unit, according to a report by CNBC.
The company’s mixed reality division oversees the development of the HoloLens 2 augmented reality headset.
The report cited a Microsoft spokesperson as saying, “Earlier today we announced a restructuring of Microsoft’s mixed reality organisation.”
The spokesperson said the HoloLens 2 and other AR related programmes will continue and won’t be affected despite the layoffs. “We remain fully committed to the Department of Defence’s IVAS programme and will continue to deliver cutting edge technology to support our soldiers. In addition, we will continue to invest in W365 to reach the broader mixed reality hardware ecosystem. We will continue to sell HoloLens 2 while supporting existing HoloLens 2 customers and partners,” the report quoted the spokesperson as saying.
Majority of the jobs cut have been within the “company’s Strategic Missions and Technologies organisation, which aims to sell Microsoft’s cloud software and server rentals for businesses with highly specified needs such as telecom firms and space companies.”
Microsoft has been steadily decreasing its investment in the mixed reality division. In December 2023, it discontinued Windows Mixed Reality, which included several tools for running mixed-reality headset applications. However, Microsoft has said that it remains committed to the HoloLens. “This deprecation doesn't affect HoloLens. We remain committed to HoloLens and our enterprise customers,” Microsoft had then said.
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