Microsoft To Cut Thousands Of Jobs Across Divisions: Reports

Microsoft Corp plans to cut thousands of jobs, with some roles being eliminated in human resources and engineering divisions, according to media reports on Tuesday.

The expected layoffs would be the latest in the US technology sector, where companies including Amazon.com Inc and Meta Platforms Inc have announced layoff drills in response to slowing demand and a worsening global economic outlook.

Microsoft’s move may indicate that the shortage of jobs in the tech sector may continue.

“From a big-picture perspective, another pending round of layoffs at Microsoft suggests the environment is not improving and is likely to worsen,” said Morningstar analyst Dan Romanoff.

UK broadcaster Sky News, citing sources, reported that Microsoft plans to cut around 5% of its workforce, or around 11,000 roles.

The company plans to cut jobs in several engineering divisions on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported, according to a person familiar with the matter, while Insider reported that Microsoft could cut recruiting staff by as much as a third.

The Bloomberg report said the cuts would be much larger than those in other rounds last year.

Microsoft declined to comment on the reports.

As of June 30, the company had 221,000 full-time employees, including 122,000 in the United States and 99,000 internationally, according to the filing.

Microsoft is under pressure to maintain growth at its cloud unit Azure after several quarters of decline in the personal computer market hurt sales of Windows and devices.

It had said in July last year that some of the roles had been phased out. In October, news site Axios reported that Microsoft had laid off fewer than 1,000 employees across several divisions.

Shares of Microsoft, which is set to report quarterly results on Jan. 24, were marginally higher in late afternoon trading.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)