What to know as Microsoft lays off 6,000 employees globally

Microsoft is laying off about 6,000 employees—roughly 3% of its global workforce.The cuts span all levels, teams, and regions, the company confirmed Tuesday.

“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.

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The company had 228,000 employees worldwide as of June 2024.

In Washington state alone, Microsoft disclosed 1,985 layoffs, including 1,510 in-office roles at its Redmond headquarters.

Despite strong financial results—$25.8 billion in quarterly net income—and a positive forecast in April, Microsoft is moving to simplify its structure.

One aim is to reduce management layers, the spokesperson said.

This appears to be Microsoft’s largest round of layoffs since 2023, when it cut 10,000 jobs.

In January, Microsoft made smaller, performance-based cuts. The new layoffs are not tied to employee performance.

C.E.O. Satya Nadella previously hinted at structural changes after slower growth in Azure cloud services outside of AI.

“At a time of platform shifts, you kind of want to make sure you lean into even the new design wins, and you just don’t keep doing the stuff that you did in the previous generation,” Nadella said in January.

Tech peers are also slimming down. Last week, CrowdStrike cut 5% of its workforce. Amazon has also reduced staff after identifying “unnecessary layers” in its organization.

Microsoft stock closed Monday at $449.26, its highest this year. The all-time high was $467.56 in July 2024.

(CNBC)

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