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The Federal Trade Commission has claimed that Microsoft contradicted its intentions during its acquisition of Activision Blizzard when it laid off 1,900 employees from its games division in January.
On Wednesday, FTC lawyer Imad Abyad argued in a letter filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that Microsoft said it intended its acquisition of Activision to “operate as a limited-integration studio.”
But as Activision employees were affected during the layoffs, Abyad claimed this goes against what the firm previously said.
He also cited comments made by Xbox head Phil Spencer that the decision to lay off staff was made to eliminate “areas of overlap” between the two companies, as reported by IGN.
“This is inconsistent with Microsoft’s suggestion to this Court that the two companies will operate independently post-merger,” Abyad said.
Abyad claimed the Microsoft layoffs highlighted the FTC’s “need for injunctive relief pending completion of the administrative proceeding,” relating to the FTC’s attempt to reverse the completed deal in December.
Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard last October after first announcing the deal in January 2022.
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