workforce Archives

Tech Optimizer

July 10, 2025

EDB Returns to Goodwood with Sovereign AI and Data Platform for Intelligent Mobility

EnterpriseDB (EDB) has returned to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, focusing on the impact of advanced AI data systems in the automotive industry. A global survey by EDB of 190 automotive executives revealed that only 13% of organizations are successfully leveraging agentic and generative AI, with these companies achieving a fivefold return on investment through a focus on data sovereignty. The automotive sector is undergoing a significant transformation, with the U.K. automotive AI market projected to grow from £8 million in 2024 to £2 million by 2030, reflecting a 21.7% CAGR. EDB is also fostering future talent through initiatives that encourage students to propose innovative data and AI solutions, with a £2,000 prize for the winning idea. The U.K. STEM workforce is expected to grow by 10% by 2030, while many tech firms face challenges in filling roles. EDB has received multiple recognitions for its innovation and workplace culture, including listings in various industry awards. EDB Postgres® AI is described as an open, enterprise-grade sovereign data and AI platform that integrates various workloads while ensuring compliance and security.

AppWizard

July 9, 2025

Ubisoft makes layoff at Red Storm

Ubisoft has announced a reduction in workforce at its Red Storm studio, eliminating 19 positions as part of a restructuring strategy for global cost efficiencies. The company emphasized the necessity of this move and stated that it is aligned with the studio's project needs. Ubisoft will provide severance packages, extended health-care benefits, and career transition assistance to those affected. The layoffs are specific to Red Storm, with no other studios facing cuts at this time. This is the second instance of workforce reductions at Red Storm, following layoffs in August 2024.

AppWizard

July 9, 2025

Xbox and PC Game Pass might not actually be that profitable for Microsoft

Microsoft is planning layoffs that could affect over 9,000 employees, about four percent of its global workforce of 228,000. These layoffs are impacting various gaming studios and projects. The company is shifting its strategy towards artificial intelligence and reducing focus on hardware sales within the Xbox division. Concerns have been raised about the profitability of Xbox and PC Game Pass, with claims that Game Pass may not be as financially successful as previously thought. Christopher Dring noted that the profitability calculations for Game Pass do not include first-party development costs, which could significantly alter the perception of its financial success. A Microsoft spokesperson stated that the layoffs are part of efforts to align with business demands and improve organizational efficiency.

AppWizard

July 8, 2025

Xbox bet that Game Pass would be the future of gaming, and we’re all paying for it

Microsoft announced a reduction of 9,100 employees, significantly affecting the Xbox division, following a previous round of 6,000 layoffs, totaling 27,600 positions eliminated since the beginning of 2023. Promising titles have been canceled, raising concerns about the future of gaming projects and workforce stability. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's compensation increased by 63% to million in 2024 amid these layoffs. Game Pass currently has around 35 million subscribers, falling short of the goal of over 100 million by 2030. The focus has shifted from hardware to services, with concerns about the sustainability of the Game Pass model and its impact on the gaming ecosystem. Rumors suggest the next generation of consoles may resemble PCs more than traditional gaming hardware.

Tech Optimizer

July 7, 2025

Atlassian moved 4 million Postgres databases to AWS Aurora

Atlassian has migrated its database infrastructure to Amazon Web Services’ Aurora, transferring four million Postgres databases that support Jira implementations. The migration involved approximately 3,000 PostgreSQL servers across 13 AWS regions. The move aims to reduce costs, enhance reliability, and improve performance, upgrading the service level agreement from 99.95% uptime on RDS to 99.99% on Aurora. Samsung has postponed the completion of its chip manufacturing plant in Texas due to difficulties in securing customers. Infosys has advised its employees against exceeding nine hours and 15 minutes of work daily to combat burnout. Qantas has acknowledged a cyberattack affecting six million customers and will provide details on the incident's impact. Xerox has acquired Lexmark from Ninestar Corporation for .5 billion. India and Australia are collaborating on a research initiative to improve tracking of submarines and underwater vehicles. JPMorgan Chase has requested to terminate its custom top-level domains, ".CHASE" and ".JPMORGAN." China’s National Space Administration has released images of Earth and the Moon taken by its Tianwen 2 probe.

AppWizard

July 6, 2025

Former Forza dev says original Motorsport series died in Microsoft’s cuts, but Forza Horizon lives on

Former Forza content coordinator Fred Russell announced on Facebook that the Forza Motorsport series has been effectively discontinued following Microsoft's mass layoffs, which reportedly affected up to 50% of Turn 10 Studios' workforce. Russell confirmed that the Forza Horizon spinoff will continue. The Forza Motorsport series currently holds a "Mixed" rating on Steam, while Forza Horizon 5 received a 90% score from PC Gamer.

AppWizard

July 4, 2025

Chaotic hoarders beware, Minecraft is about to get an invasion of copper golem housekeepers

Copper golems and new copper equipment will be introduced in the upcoming Minecraft update, currently in testing for Bedrock and soon to be released as a Snapshot for Java. Players can create copper golems by placing a jack-o-lantern or carved pumpkin on a block of copper, which will then organize items in treasure chests. Copper will also become a legitimate equipment tier, with durability between stone and iron, allowing players to mine faster than with a stone pickaxe, but not unlocking additional materials. Copper is abundant in Minecraft's generated worlds, making it ideal for early-game use.

Winsage

July 4, 2025

Microsoft’s enshittification of Xbox, Surface, and even Windows itself, are by design — with greed and corner-cutting replacing innovation

Microsoft announced 9,000 layoffs, bringing the total for the year to over 15,300, including cuts within Xbox. The layoffs are attributed to unrealistic fiscal expectations set by CFO Amy Hood, creating an environment of fear and uncertainty. There is a perception that these layoffs are part of a broader shift towards artificial intelligence, with Microsoft executives and shareholders reportedly resenting the investment in Activision-Blizzard. The company plans to invest billions in new AI training centers globally, raising concerns about the impact on its core gaming and consumer products. Microsoft’s AI products have faced criticism, and the company has been accused of losing sight of the human element in its consumer businesses. The recent layoffs have left employees feeling uncertain about their futures, and there is a growing sentiment that Microsoft lacks a coherent mission or ethos, prioritizing short-term gains over long-term innovation.

AppWizard

July 2, 2025

Xbox hit in yet another wave of Microsoft layoffs

Microsoft is implementing further layoffs, particularly in its Xbox division, affecting employees at King and ZeniMax, with a total reduction of over 9,000 positions, representing a four percent cut in its workforce. This is the fourth round of layoffs in Microsoft's gaming sector in 18 months. Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, stated that these cuts are necessary to position gaming for future success and emphasized the importance of prioritizing strong opportunities while acknowledging the impact on affected employees.

Tech Optimizer

July 2, 2025

CompTIA State of the Tech Workforce 2025 released, Meta joins Kotlin Foundation, Percona launches Transparent Data Encryption for PostgreSQL

CompTIA's State of the Tech Workforce 2025 report shows a 1.2% growth in the tech workforce in 2024, totaling 5.9 million professionals, with projections of reaching 6.1 million by 2025. California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Virginia are the leading states in tech employment, while Texas, North Carolina, Florida, New Jersey, and Tennessee have seen the most growth. Major cities with advancements in tech job opportunities include New York City, Orlando, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, and Baltimore. Meta has joined the Kotlin Foundation to promote Kotlin within its development ecosystem and will contribute to a grants program for open-source library authors. Percona has launched an open-source Transparent Data Encryption extension for PostgreSQL, allowing organizations to secure data at rest without licensing fees or vendor lock-in. The extension supports deployment without application changes, multi-tenant environments, control over encryption strategies, and centralized key management.