Microsoft resets sales and Xbox divisions with 4,800 job cuts

• One is a companywide efficiency push involving about 3,200 jobs globally, primarily impacting the salesforce and consulting arms, part of an effort to streamline operations and embed AI engineering directly into customer work. Read more.

• The other is a major overhaul of Xbox, cutting 1,600 jobs today with another 1,600 to follow in the months ahead. That means Xbox alone will end up cutting 3,200 total, or 20% of its workforce, spinning off at least four studios in the process. Read more.

Speaking with GeekWire, top Microsoft executives said the layoffs were minimized by redeploying more than 4,000 employees into new roles over the past year and a voluntary retirement program that about 30% of eligible employees accepted. 

MORE: Xbox at a crossroads: 25 years later, Microsoft is done playing around

A tech boost for PBS stations: Seattle’s Cascade PBS has spun out its streaming app technology into a standalone company called Local Public, which is now building connected-TV and mobile apps for public media stations across the country. The aim is to allow stations to move faster and collaborate more effectively and to counter media consolidation and AI slop. Read more.

The robots race: While Elon Musk keeps pushing back production timelines for Tesla’s Optimus, Chinese tech companies are rapidly capturing the market by deploying lifelike humanoid robots. AI researcher and entrepreneur Oren Etzioni breaks down the difference in the pace of innovation in his latest “Etzioni on AI” column. 

Hot Links:

• Amazon is shutting the door on new Mechanical Turk customers by July 30, effectively signaling the end of its once‑pioneering crowdsourcing platform as AWS moves users toward newer AI‑annotation tools. (The Register)

• The Washington State Artificial Intelligence Task Force released its final report studying how AI is used statewide and recommending policies. (Washington AG’s Office)