Turnbull aimed to support former workers after Microsoft announced plans to lay off 9,000 employees—around 4% of its workforce—with many affected roles in the gaming division. However, his message was poorly received, and the LinkedIn post sparked controversy across several online platforms.
An Xbox executive producer recommended that former employees use AI tools to process their emotions after Microsoft announced massive layoffs. Turnbull included prompts for former employees to use in their job search. The message sparked debate across multiple platforms and was ultimately deleted following backlash.
The tech news site Aftermath published a screenshot of the post before it was deleted. “These are really challenging times, and 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,” wrote Turnbull. “I’ve been experimenting with ways to use LLM Al tools (like ChatGPT or Copilot) to help reduce the emotional and cognitive load that comes with job loss.” Turnbull then shared several prompts for former employees to use in their job search, including topics related to emotional clarity. “At a time when mental energy is scarce, these tools can help get you unstuck faster, calmer, and with more clarity,” added Turnbull. “If this helps, feel free to share with others in your network.” The post was shared by multiple people on the social media platform X, went viral, and hundreds of users shared creative insults, calling the producer “not human” and to “read the room” before posting. “Xbox exec should use AI to find a heart because apparently they don’t own one,” wrote one user. “I never understood how people could say stuff like this,” added another user. “You have to be ridiculously out-of-touch on a whole other level to post that at this time. I just don’t get how that’s possible.” Microsoft’s recent layoffs are reportedly linked to the company’s focus on AI—which currently writes 30% of their code. According to the BBC, Microsoft has plans to invest $80 billion in data centers to train AI models.
