Welcome to Xbox's XP era.

• Dropbox co-CEO Ashraf Alkarmi announced layoffs of roughly 200 workers.
• Alkarmi said the cloud-based storage company is profitable but needs to make "hard choices."
• You can read his full email to employees below.

Dropbox is dropping the layoffs hammer.

Dropbox co-CEO Ashraf Alkarmi announced on Wednesday that the cloud-based storage company is laying off roughly 9% of its global workforce.

"Today, we're making difficult choices about where we invest and how we organize Dropbox to achieve the product and growth priorities that will matter most for our long-term strategy," Alkarmi wrote in an email to workers that the company posted publicly.

Alkarmi said Dropbox is eliminating roughly 200 roles across its across Engineering, Product, Design, and G&A team. The company, Alkarmi wrote, is profitable but needs to make "hard choices" about where it spends its money.

"Delivering on that strategy requires concentrating our resources on the priorities that will have the greatest potential for customer impact and growth," he wrote.

As part of the changes, Alkarmi also announced that chief technology officer Ali Dasdan will be stepping down.

Read the full email

Hi everyone,

Today, we're making difficult choices about where we invest and how we organize Dropbox to achieve the product and growth priorities that will matter most for our long-term strategy. As part of these changes, we've made the decision to eliminate about 200 roles across Engineering, Product, Design, and G&A teams (approximately 9% of our global workforce). For most impacted Dropboxers, today will be their last day.

S-team and I take full ownership of this decision and recognize that these colleagues have made meaningful contributions to Dropbox, our products, our customers, and our teams. Our first priority today is to treat every person affected with the care and respect they deserve.

Changes to Senior Leadership

I also want to share that Ali Dasdan has decided to move on from Dropbox. During his time here, Ali led and strengthened many of the technical capabilities we'll rely on as we move into the next phase of our transformation. I'm grateful for his leadership, his partnership, and the foundation he and the team have put in place. Ali's last day is November 18th, and he'll be focused on ensuring a smooth transition through next month. We wish him all the best in what comes next.

Why we're making these changes

Our business is profitable, and we've built real momentum this year. Our two-year strategy sets a clear direction for growth: solving more of our customers' critical workflows; reaching more of our chosen customers, including larger companies; and bringing our technology to new markets.

Delivering on that strategy requires concentrating our resources on the priorities that will have the greatest potential for customer impact and growth.

That means making hard choices about where we invest, how we're organized, and what work we simplify, scale back, or stop. Those choices include the difficult decision to reduce the size of our team.

How we'll prioritize going forward

In order to be successful, we can't take the same work and spread it across fewer people. We'll streamline teams and concentrate support and resources against product areas that have the highest impact on our customers and Dropbox as a business.

Taking care of impacted employees

To those leaving Dropbox, we're committed to supporting you through this transition. Departing Dropboxers are eligible for a severance package in line with the following:

Severance, equity, and transition support:

Sixteen weeks of pay beginning today, plus one additional week for each completed year at Dropbox. International packages will reflect local practices and legal requirements

Q4 equity vesting

For employees on the Corporate Bonus plan, a prorated lump-sum payment based on their 2026 bonus target

Immigration support for impacted visa holders

Healthcare and well-being:

U.S. employees will receive six months of COBRA subsidy, if elected and eligible

Modern Health access will continue through the end of the separation month to support mental well-being, with extension options detailed in severance packages

Payment for eligible current and approved upcoming paid leaves, including medical and family leave

Additional support:

Devices: Impacted employees will be eligible to keep (1) Dropbox laptop, (1) mobile device if assigned, and all existing desktop peripherals

Job placement: Job placement services and career coaching will be available at no cost

What comes next

Right now, our focus is on the colleagues who are leaving Dropbox. Please give them the space and support they need.

And to everyone leaving Dropbox: thank you. Your work to build our capabilities, serve our customers, and contribute to our culture has been deeply meaningful. I'm grateful for everything you've contributed.

Ashraf

December is when streaming companies bring out the really big guns, but November is no wimp when it comes to major releases.

Today we are taking a look at what’s coming to streaming next month, so grab your comfy blanket, put the kettle on and let’s dive right in!

The Greatest – Prime Video (November 4)

The life of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali has been immortalised on screen before, but The Greatest casts a wider net and covers his whole life in detail over an eight-episode series.

Starring Jaalen Best as the legendary boxer, The Greatest follows the transformation of a young Cassius Clay into Muhammad Ali, exploring his struggles both inside and outside the ring.

A major plus for the series is the involvement of Michael B Jordan, who serves as executive producer.

Stick (Season 2) – Apple TV (November 4)

Guys, at this point I would watch anything released by Apple TV. A-ny-thing. I don’t know what’s happening over there, but their creative team is firing on all cylinders and it’s a wonder to behold.

Owen Wilson returns as Pryce ‘Stick’ Cahill, the washed-up golfer who, during season one, rediscovers his love for the sport by mentoring a young prodigy.

Wilson, who I strongly believe was born to play this part, now eyes his own comeback in season two, as he decides to return to professional golf and take a shot at winning the US Open.

Timothy Olyphant and the always welcome Marc Maron return, and to make the whole thing even better, Rhea Seehorn joins the cast as Pryce’s new coach. What more do you want?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 3) – Prime Video (November 11)

One does not simply walk into Mordor. Because it is currently under construction.

Amazon’s ambitious Tolkien adaptation returns for its third season, taking place five years after the fall of Eregion.

Sauron’s armies are spreading across Middle Earth, the Elves are fighting desperately to resist him and the Dark Lord is preparing to forge the One Ring.

Morfydd Clark returns as Galadriel, alongside Charlie Vickers as Sauron and Robert Aramayo as Elrond.

The season also introduces Jamie Campbell Bower, of Stranger Things fame, as Galadriel’s partner Celeborn, and Simon Pegg as the voice of the Balrog.

Guarding Stars – Netflix (November 18)

“Supernatural” star Jared Padalecki stars as Jack Stapleton, a famous action movie star who is in need of a new bodyguard. Leighton Meester is the reluctant professional who begrudgingly takes on the assignment and follows her client to his family ranch in Montana.

It is cheesy and predictable, so everything you want from a Christmas movie. Just what the doctor ordered for those cold winter nights to warm your heart!

The Altruists – Netflix (November 19)

Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison were among the biggest names in cryptocurrency, and they were making billions before most people had caught up with this new thing.

By 2022, their empire had collapsed. Both eventually ended up in prison, with Bankman-Fried ordered to forfeit $11 billion.

The Altruists dramatises this extraordinary story of love and fraud over eight episodes. Honestly, given how crazy the whole story was, I doubt that the writers had to do any writing at all. Sometimes real life is far more bizarre and outrageous than anything a writers’ room can come up with.

Steps – Netflix (November 20)

There are always two sides to every story. For years we have been listening only to Cinderella’s side of the story, one that painted her stepsisters as evil.

Are they, though?

Ali Wong stars as Lilith, one of Cinderella’s misunderstood stepsisters, who embarks on an adventure to save the kingdom after she accidentally plunges everything into chaos.

Blade Runner 2099 – Prime Video (November 25)

One of science fiction’s most celebrated franchises makes the jump to television.

Set 50 years after the events of “Blade Runner 2049”, this eight-part limited series returns viewers to a futuristic Los Angeles where the distinction between humans and artificial beings remains dangerously blurred.

Hunter Schafer stars as Cora, a fugitive who assumes the identity of a Blade Runner, while Michelle Yeoh plays Olwen, a replicant approaching the end of her life.

Original Blade Runner director Ridley Scott serves as executive producer.

The Hunchback, Soul of Paris – Netflix (November 27)

Having read Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I was always amazed by Hollywood’s lighthearted approach to the source material. The actual book is dark and heart-wrenching. There are no happy endings for anyone and definitely no singing gargoyles.

This film apparently decides to stick closer to the spirit of the novel, taking a far darker approach to Victor Hugo’s legendary character. I say “spirit” because the plot looks like a total deviation.

Set in Paris in 1830, against the backdrop of political unrest and a devastating cholera epidemic, the film follows a disfigured man hunted by authorities who want to use him for medical experiments.

Vincent Cassel the titular character.