After laying off roughly 1% of its 180,000-strong workforce in July, withdrawing job offers from its Office and Windows divisions, and reducing its hiring level, Microsoft has made more cutswith the firing several members of his Modern Living Experiences (MLX) group, who is one of those responsible for the company’s research and development project that is focused on consumers. In addition, the layoffs also seem to have affected several recruiters who were working as freelancers for Microsoft in various cities, such as Chicago.
It’s unclear how many workers have been affected by the layoffs, though the 200-strong MSL team has already received word that they will have to seek another role at Microsoft if they want to avoid leaving the company, according to Business Insider.
With a team spread across several cities, including Vancouver (Canada) and San Francisco (United States), the division was created as a group in a company that those from Redmond bought in 2015: Mobile Data Labs. Its mission was to adjust MileIQ, a consumption tracking app to get discounts and rebates. After several years of developing this work, the team expanded its scope at Microsoft, partnering with the Microsoft Family Safety Group to develop the first version of the Family Safety apps for Android and iOS.
Following a change in management in 2020, Eran Megiddo, Vice President of Windows for Education and Product he took charge of the Microsoft Education Group, and also of MLX. In June 2020, MLX launched the Money in Excel template, with which spreadsheet users can automatically connect their bank accounts, credit cards, investments and loans to Excel to receive personalized information. Its journey will not be very long, since its closure is scheduled for June 30, 2023. In addition, the group has been in charge of the incubation of «innovative new customer experiences» for families on Windows, Xbox, mobile, and the web.
Not long ago, MLX was part of a larger effort by Microsoft to build consumer loyalty by focusing on a variety of products and services, including several geared toward families. But all this seems to have come to an end, and although the company does not confirm the closure of the group, if its members have received a notice that they are either looking for another position or will leave Microsoft, it does not seem that their journey will continue.
