Microsoft Responds to Latest Spurious FTC Complaint

Microsoft has responded to a baseless FTC legal complaint related to recent layoffs in its Microsoft Gaming business unit.

“Consistent with broader trends in the gaming industry, Activision was already planning on eliminating a significant number of jobs while still operating as an independent company,” a Microsoft representative told a federal appeals court in San Francisco, as reported by Bloomberg. “The recent announcement thus cannot be attributed fully to the merger.”

The FTC complained that Microsoft’s recent gaming layoffs contradicted assurances it had given the federal judge who denied its request to block the Activision Blizzard acquisition. Among other things, this issue has little to do with the judge’s approval of the acquisition and literally nothing to do with the issues FTC raised when it tried to block the deal.

Microsoft also noted that while the recent layoffs did involve some employees from the former Activision Blizzard, it has structured its Microsoft Gaming unit such that it could be spun off should a court later rule to unwind the acquisition. Long story short, the FTC’s complaint is baseless.