FTC Knocks Microsoft Over Activision Layoffs in Court Filing

Microsoft Corp.’s plans to cut 1,900 jobs from its video game division contradict statements the company made to a US court that it would operate the newly acquired Activision Blizzard Inc. independently, the US Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday.

“The reported elimination of thousands of jobs undermines the FTC’s ability to order effective relief” should a court later find Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition violates the law, the agency said in a letter to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

The FTC said the layoffs show that the merger created areas of overlap and the court should have ...