Xbox veteran Kevin LaChapelle used his first-ever LinkedIn post to share news of his layoff after a 37-year career at Microsoft.
Kevin LaChapelle worked at Microsoft for 37 years without ever publishing a single LinkedIn post. That changed on Tuesday, a day after LaChapelle, alongside 1,600 other Xbox employees, was laid off in the first tranche of the Microsoft-owned company’s AI-led restructuring. Having risen through the ranks, the former vice president of the Xbox Platform spent decades driving massive tech milestones like cloud gaming and backward compatibility, only to be met with a rather unceremonious end.
While the occasion was sombre, LaChapelle expressed satisfaction over the work he and his team accomplished over the years.
“I will add my name to the list of people who were laid off today at Xbox. This ends my 37 years at Microsoft. I have worked in many different parts of the company, and I will say my fondest memories are of leading the team of very talented engineers who built the Xbox Backward Compatibility program,” wrote LaChapelle.
“Sitting in the auditorium when Phil announced the program at E3 2015 was incredible. The audience’s reaction was unbelievable. I followed that with leading the team who created our Cloud Gaming product.”
“I am a firm believer that all entertainment will eventually become streamed to you wherever you are. I look forward to watching how Xbox evolves going forward and I wish the team nothing but success.”
Created in May 2005, LaChapelle’s LinkedIn account had been silent for years. His first and only post turned the profile into a final farewell message, as social media users empathised with him.
“I’m sorry to hear this. 40 years career for a man, 37 years is definitely a significant milestone and commitment,” said one user while another added: “Kevin, I’m sorry this is how such a long and impactful Microsoft chapter ended. The work you helped lead shaped how millions of people experience Xbox.”
A third commented: “Kevin, we haven’t met before but sincerely, thank you! Saw that you worked on Windows Movie Maker – I used to make anime music videos on there back in 2007.”
Xbox Layoffs
In an email to workers, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma informed them of the layoffs, highlighting that the business was ‘not healthy’. In addition, Sharma announced that Xbox will divest four of its gaming studios and is preparing to part ways with another.
“Our business today is not healthy. We are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses,” Sharma said in her email, which she posted on X, while noting that the layoff decision does not reflect the “talent and dedication” of employees.
Sharma laid out three ways that Xbox will reset itself – overhauling its content portfolio, platform and how the team operates.
