New Delhi, July 6 -- Microsoft has initiated what industry insiders are calling the largest single layoff cycle in gaming history, cutting 4,800 jobs, 2.1% of its workforce, on Monday, July 6. Xbox division is reportedly losing about one-fifth of its staff amid Microsoft's latest push to cut costs in the artificial intelligence era.

Microsoft shares fell 1.7% at 9:55 a.m. in New York.

In all, planned cuts across Microsoft announced Monday total 6,400. That amounts to less than 3% of total headcount of about 228,000.

"The way technology is built, deployed, and used is transforming faster than at any point in my time here," Amy Coleman, Microsoft's chief people officer and a 27-year company veteran, wrote in a message to employees.

Xbox...