Xbox Exec Tells Laid Off Workers to Ask AI for Emotional Support After Mass Firings

After a brutal wave of layoffs at Xbox, one executive thought it was a good time to share some tips—by suggesting that AI could help fired workers deal with their emotions.

Matt Turnbull, Executive Producer at Xbox Game Studios Publishing, posted a now-deleted message on LinkedIn with a list of AI prompts he believed could be helpful for those who just lost their jobs.

This happened just as Microsoft let go of thousands of people across the company, including hundreds in the Xbox division, while also announcing its $80 billion investment in AI.

In his post, Turnbull wrote that layoffs are hard and people don’t have to go through it alone. He then offered suggestions on how large language models like ChatGPT or Copilot could be used to ease the emotional and mental stress of being unemployed.

“These are really challenging times…you’re not alone and you don’t have to go it alone,” he wrote. “I’ve been experimenting with ways to use LLM AI tools…to help reduce the emotional and cognitive load that comes with job loss.”

He suggested AI could help with resumes, LinkedIn profiles, networking messages, and even imposter syndrome. One of his prompts read: “I’m struggling with imposter syndrome after being laid off. Can you help me reframe this experience in a way that reminds me what I’m good at?”

After the post started getting attention online, it was quietly deleted, most likely after feedback that it didn’t land well with people who had just lost their jobs.

The backlash wasn’t surprising. Many employees are still angry over how the cuts were handled. In a comment to Engadget, one developer didn’t hold back: “I’m personally super pissed that Phil’s email to us bragged about how this was the most profitable year ever for Xbox in the same breath as pulling the lever.”

The layoffs on July 2 were part of a much bigger global cut where Microsoft laid off 9,000 people. In Washington state alone, where Halo’s studios are located, 830 workers lost their jobs. Microsoft claims the Xbox team didn’t take the majority of the hit, but Xbox is a smaller part of the company, and it still lost major staff and entire studios.

Projects like Perfect Dark and Everwild were cancelled. Turn 10 Studios, the team behind Forza Motorsport, saw massive cuts. ZeniMax president Matt Firor and Rare’s veteran designer Gregg Mayles reportedly left as well. Even Warcraft Rumble is being shut down.

Microsoft has been pushing deeper into AI recently. CEO Satya Nadella said at Meta’s Llamacon event that about 30% of the company’s code is now written by AI. Activision, which is now part of Microsoft, has confirmed that AI was used during development of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

According to another Xbox developer who spoke to Engadget, Microsoft seems to be actively trying to replace jobs with AI. “They’re trying their damndest to replace as many jobs as they can with AI agents,” the dev said.

Microsoft has been cutting Xbox jobs for over a year now. In January 2024, it laid off 1,900 people. Another 650 were cut in September 2023. Studios like Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Games, and Tango Gameworks were closed entirely. All of this happened despite Microsoft pulling in $25.8 billion in revenue in early 2025 and an 8% rise in Xbox content and services sales.

For many people in the industry, the message is loud and clear: no matter how successful Xbox might seem, jobs are still being cut, games are being canceled, and now AI is being offered as emotional support.

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