LayoffsWARN notice

Microsoft's notice to Washington, received May 13, 2025, covers 1,985 workers

The notice lists Redmond as its site; the state's list names only the company, not a division. The layoffs were to start on Jul 12, 2025.

From the public record2 min read

Published Oct 15, 2026 · 00:35 UTCUpdated Oct 21, 2026 · 01:36 UTCReceived May 13, 2025

Workers1,985

Layoff start dateJul 12, 2025

SiteRedmond, WA

DivisionNot named

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, from public records. Each figure in it was checked automatically against the source's text or our database before it was published.

Washington state received Microsoft's WARN notice for 1,985 workers on May 13, 2025. A WARN notice is a layoff notice that a US state requires of employers. The notice lists Redmond as its site. It gives Jul 12, 2025 as the effective date, the day the layoffs start, and its type is Layoff · Permanent. The state's list names only the company, not a division.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Microsoft's companies include game makers: Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax Media and Mojang Studios, which develops and publishes Minecraft.9 10 11 12 13

Later Microsoft notices on Washington's list carry the dates Jul 6, 2026, for 605 workers listing Redmond, and Sep 22, 2026, for 277 workers, also listing Redmond. ZeniMax Media Inc. filed a Maryland notice for 166 workers, also dated Jul 6, 2026.14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

The 1,985 workers are the count for the notice as a whole. As we hold it, the record does not say that all of them work in Redmond, or where the others work. In the 12 months to the end of Oct 20, 2026, the WARN notices we hold for Microsoft and the companies under it add up to 4 notices and 1,261 workers, so the 2025 notice falls outside that window. Our record of the notice holds the employer, state, location, type, workers, notice date and effective date. We hold no stated reason for the layoffs and no street address, and the record is the state's published row, not the employer's letter. Our record holds one date for it, May 13, 2025, which Washington's list publishes as the day it received the notice. Our records hold no other notice of Microsoft or a company under it with that notice date. A notice matched to a company by name waits for review and counts nowhere until it is approved, so a count of notices is a count of those we hold, not of every notice filed. Our records hold no WARN notice matched to the names of Microsoft or a company under it that is held back from view: every notice we match to them is counted.2 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

How each figure was checked37 facts

employer as the state lists itMicrosoftOur database
workers in the notice1,985Our database
stateWashingtonOur database
date the state received the noticeMay 13, 2025Our database
locationRedmondOur database
effective dateJul 12, 2025Our database
notice typeLayoff · PermanentOur database
whether the notice names the divisiondoes not name the division: filed by a company with companies under itOur database
Microsoft Gaming's parentMicrosoftOur database
Activision Blizzard's parentMicrosoft GamingOur database
ZeniMax Media's parentMicrosoft GamingOur database
Mojang Studios' parentMicrosoft GamingOur database
games Mojang Studios makesMinecraft (developer, publisher)Our database
employer of notice 47MicrosoftOur database
notice date of notice 47Jul 6, 2026Our database
workers in notice 47605Our database
location of notice 47RedmondOur database
state of notice 47WashingtonOur database
employer of notice 2MicrosoftOur database
notice date of notice 2Sep 22, 2026Our database
workers in notice 2277Our database
location of notice 2RedmondOur database
state of notice 2WashingtonOur database
employer of notice 23832ZeniMax Media Inc.Our database
state of notice 23832MarylandOur database
workers in notice 23832166Our database
notice date of notice 23832Jul 6, 2026Our database
sites the state liststhe state's list names 1 site: RedmondOur database
what our record says of sitesOur record of WARN notice 218 lists one site (Redmond) and one count, 1985 workers, for the notice as a whole: it does not say that all of them work at that site, or where the others work.Our database
workers in WARN notices, 12 months to Oct 20, 20261261 workers in WARN notices in the 12 months to the end of Oct 20, 2026 (UTC), counting what we held by thenOur database
WARN notices, 12 months to Oct 20, 20264 WARN notices in the 12 months to the end of Oct 20, 2026 (UTC), counting what we held by thenOur database
notice dateMay 13, 2025Our database
what our record of the notice holdsOur record of WARN notice 218 holds the employer, state, location, type, workers, notice date, effective date. It holds no stated reason for the layoffs. It holds no street address. It is the state's published row, not the employer's letter: we hold no text of the letter.Our database
which dates our record holdsOur record of WARN notice 218 holds one date for it, 2025-05-13, which Washington's list publishes as the day it received the notice (its 'Received Date' column): that date is both the notice date and the date received, and there is no separate notice date; it holds the effective date 2025-07-12.Our database
other notices with the same notice dateOur records hold no other notice of Microsoft or a company under it with the notice date 2025-05-13.Our database
notices waiting for reviewA WARN notice matched to Microsoft or a company under it by name waits for review and counts in no total or list we hold until it is approved: a count of notices is a count of those we hold, not of every notice filed.Our database
notices held backOur records hold no WARN notice matched to the names of Microsoft or a company under it that is held back from view: every notice we match to them is counted.Our database