Microsoft has once again laid off an undisclosed number of employees, continuing a trend of workforce reductions that began earlier this year. The company declined to specify the exact number of affected positions. However, LinkedIn posts from impacted individuals suggest that the cuts primarily targeted those in product and program management roles. A Microsoft spokesperson stated that these actions are a regular part of managing the business and ensuring strategic growth. Notably, these layoffs coincide with the start of Microsoft's new fiscal year.
This recent round of layoffs follows closely on the heels of previous workforce reductions. In June, Microsoft let go of approximately 1,000 employees, impacting various departments, including the Azure cloud unit and the HoloLens mixed-reality division. Earlier in January, the tech giant laid off nearly 2,000 employees from its gaming unit, just a few months after finalizing its acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion.
Microsoft justifies these cutbacks as necessary to protect its profit margins while investing heavily in cloud infrastructure for AI development. This strategic shift towards AI comes amid a broader industry trend of tech layoffs. Data from Layoffs.fyi reveals that over 100,000 tech workers have been laid off in the current year alone, following more than 260,000 layoffs in the previous year.
Despite these ongoing workforce reductions, Microsoft's overall headcount has remained relatively stable over the past two years. At the end of the 2023 calendar year, the company employed approximately 227,000 people globally, a slight decrease from the 232,000 employees reported the previous year. These figures, tracked by GeekWire using regulatory filings and earnings calls, suggest that Microsoft is strategically adjusting its workforce rather than implementing a company-wide downsizing.