Xbox Exec Tells Laid Off Workers to Use AI for Emotional Support Amid Microsoft Job Cuts
Microsoft is investing billions into AI while cutting thousands of jobs. Now an Xbox leader says ChatGPT can help workers cope… but the advice is being called tone deaf.
Microsoft is in the middle of its largest layoff wave in two years, cutting over 9,000 roles across the company, with Xbox and its game studios taking some of the hardest hits. Long-anticipated games have been shelved, entire teams shut down, and hundreds of developers left scrambling for what’s next. In the wake of that disruption, one Xbox executive offered a surprising suggestion for how to cope: ask AI for help.
In a now-deleted LinkedIn post, Matt Turnbull, director at Xbox Game Studios, told laid-off colleagues to consider turning to large language models like ChatGPT or Microsoft’s own Copilot to manage the emotional and cognitive toll of job loss. The post, which circulated widely on social media before being removed, offered AI prompt templates for everything from resume rewrites to imposter syndrome support.
“These are really challenging times,” Turnbull wrote. “If you’re navigating a layoff or even quietly preparing for one, you’re not alone and you don’t have to go it alone… These tools can help get you unstuck faster, calmer, and with more clarity.”
That advice didn’t land well.
For many in the gaming industry, where job insecurity has been growing alongside AI adoption, the idea of turning to bots for comfort came off as more insulting than helpful. Developers and artists reacted with frustration, arguing that the same tools being hailed as support are also helping drive the shift that’s pushing creatives out of their roles.
Microsoft’s own AI strategy is central to that shift. In January, the company announced plans to invest $80 billion into AI infrastructure, focusing on cloud compute and AI-based tools across its ecosystem even as it prepared for this current round of mass layoffs.
Microsoft’s Mixed Message
To critics, Turnbull’s post embodies Microsoft’s broader contradiction: betting big on AI while telling real workers that bots can help them recover from losing their jobs.
“AI won’t listen to your fears. It won’t tell you your work mattered,” one former Xbox employee told TechCrunch under condition of anonymity. “It’s not a shoulder. It’s a shortcut.”
Though Turnbull did clarify that AI should not replace anyone’s voice or lived experience, he framed AI-generated support as a way to reclaim mental energy and clarity at a time when many are overwhelmed.
That nuance didn’t help much. On platforms like Bluesky and Mastodon, where screenshots of the post continued to spread, the overwhelming response was that Microsoft needed to offer laid-off workers more than generic prompts and productivity tips.
Even developers who saw value in AI for things like resume building agreed the suggestion felt hollow given the timing.
The Deeper Tension
Turnbull’s advice would have sounded different in a less volatile moment. But it came just days after Microsoft shut down multiple projects and laid off entire creative teams. Reports say games like Everwild and Perfect Dark have been delayed or shelved, while internal morale at Xbox remains low.
In that context, AI tools are not just neutral utilities they represent a growing divide between the direction of the company and the realities faced by those in creative roles. And for many, they highlight just how fast tech priorities are overtaking human ones.
Microsoft is not alone. Across the tech and gaming industries, job cuts have intensified even as generative AI becomes a larger focus. Startups and giants alike are racing to integrate AI, often with promises of streamlined production, faster iteration, and lower costs. But that speed often comes with layoffs, as teams are told to do more with less.
AI’s Role: Tool or Bandage?
There is truth to what Turnbull shared. AI can be helpful for job seekers especially those trying to move fast while juggling emotional stress. Tools like ChatGPT can suggest job titles, tweak resumes for specific industries, or help draft cold outreach messages that might otherwise take hours.
But they are no substitute for genuine support, career counseling, severance protections, or mental health resources. They can’t fix the structural issues behind creative job loss or prevent companies from laying off the same people they later tell to “stay connected.”
In an internal memo reviewed by The Verge, Microsoft leadership said the layoffs are part of a broader restructuring that will help the company stay competitive. But it’s not lost on staff that those same efficiencies are being funded by AI growth
and the people being cut are often the ones who made Xbox what it is.
What Workers Need Instead
For those impacted, AI might offer some practical assistance. But what most want is accountability, clear transition support, and a genuine acknowledgment that human contributions matter more than machine outputs.
Until companies balance innovation with integrity, even the best-intentioned advice may sound empty.
TLDR
- Microsoft laid off over 9,000 employees in July 2025, including key roles at Xbox.
- An Xbox executive suggested laid-off staff use AI like ChatGPT to manage the stress of job loss.
- The post drew backlash for feeling impersonal and missing the deeper human cost of layoffs.
- Microsoft has invested $80 billion in AI infrastructure amid these job cuts.
- Workers want more than AI tools, they want transparency, support, and recognition. This should seem obvious but uh yeah.