On Wednesday, Microsoft announced it would be laying off 10,000 employees as the business adjusted to economic uncertainty and shifted its focus to growth areas like artificial intelligence.
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Less than five percent of Microsoft’s worldwide staff will be affected by the layoffs, which started on Wednesday and will continue through March, CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement to employees. However, the IT behemoth did not specify which positions would be eliminated. However, its engineering departments apparently feel the effects of the cutbacks.
Nadella acknowledged the difficulty of the decisions but deemed them essential. Because they have real consequences for real people — our coworkers and friends — they are extremely challenging.
These layoffs come almost three months to the day after Microsoft laid off roughly 1,000 workers in October, and just before the company reports its quarterly profits on Tuesday. Microsoft hasn’t laid off this many people in around eight years, since its botched takeover of Nokia eliminated over 20,000 positions in 2014 and 2015.
Microsoft has announced layoffs and modifications to its hardware lineup as well as plans to consolidate leased office space. Implementing the measures, including severance, will cost the firm $1.2 billion, Nadella said.
The decision by Microsoft follows months of layoffs in the technology sector. Many companies have cut back on staffing due to the economic turmoil, including Google Verily, T-Mobile, Intel, and Meta. 18,000 jobs are being eliminated at Amazon as well.
