Microsoft Lays Off 30 From Its HoloLens Team The tech giant is downsizing the Israel-based team working on an augmented reality headset.

By Max Slater-Robins

This story originally appeared on Business Insider

Hololens | Twitter

Microsoft has laid off 30 employees who were working on HoloLens, the augmented reality headset, in Israel, with 30 more being relocated within the company, the Israeli news site Ynet reports.

According to Ynet, the 60 jobs come from engineering, meaning they were directly involved in the design and production of the headset.

It's unclear where the 30 who remain will be relocated. It's also unclear whether other areas of HoloLens across Microsoft will be affected.

In a statement, the company did not give a reason for the layoffs, describing it as a "shift of jobs across the organization."

Those who were contract workers were laid off immediately, with permanent employees given one month to find another job within the company.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made the decision in mid-2014 to cut 18,000 jobs, with a further 8,000 in July of this year, many from the $7.2 billion (£4.6 billion) acquisition of Nokia. The company then let 1,000 more employees go in October.

Microsoft provided the following statement to Ynet (which has been translated into English):

We perform ongoing assessments of the needs of our business and recently made decisions that affects the number of jobs in one of our groups. As needed, we are increasing investment in some areas and reduce investments in others. As a result, there is a shift of jobs across the organization and [this means] sometimes eliminating jobs. Our top priority is about the treatment of workers that will be affected by the decision and supporting them.

HoloLens is a $3,000 (£1,900) augmented reality headset that runs Windows Holographic, a version of the company's operating system. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has emphasised the importance of the headset numerous times, describing it as a "category creation" device.

Wavy Line
Max Slater-Robins

Editorial Intern

Max Slater-Robins is an editorial intern at Business Insider UK.
 

Editor's Pick

She's Been Coding Since Age 7 and Presented Her Life-Saving App to Tim Cook Last Year. Now 17, She's on Track to Solve Even Bigger Problems.
Lock
I Helped Grow 4 Unicorns Over 10 Years That Generated $18 Billion in Online Revenues. Here's What I've Learned.
Lock
Want to Break Bad Habits and Supercharge Your Business? Use This Technique.
Lock
Don't Have Any Clients But Need Customer Testimonials? Follow These 3 Tricks To Boost Your Rep.
Why Are Some Wines More Expensive Than Others? A Top Winemaker Gives a Full-Bodied Explanation.

Related Topics

Business News

California Woman Arrested For $60 Million Postal Service Scam

Lijuan "Angela" Chen faces two charges that each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Real Estate

Few Industries Are Better for First-Time Investors Than Real Estate. Here Are 4 Proven Ways to Make a Profit.

It's hard to overlook real estate's obvious advantages when it comes to investing. If you're venturing into this investment for the first time, here are some strategies to be the smartest investor that you can be.

Science & Technology

Is AI Killing Our Work Ethic and Purpose? A Balanced Perspective on Harnessing the Full Potential of Generative AI

Despite its popularity, human expertise and judgment remain essential in leveraging the complete potential of generative AI.

Business News

A Wegmans Employee Allegedly Stole Over $500,000 from the Company

Alicia Torres pleaded guilty to crimes carried out over nine years while working at Wegmans in Webster, New York.

Starting a Business

Ask Marc | Free Business Advice Session with the Co-Founder of Netflix

Get free business advice during our next Ask Marc, live Q&A, on 6/21/23 at 3 p.m. EDT. You don't want to miss it—send in your questions now.