Fresh Microsoft layoffs hit software engineering roles, documents show

Microsoft headquarters in Shanghai, China, pictured with male employee walking in front entrance. — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Microsoft is set to lay off more than 300 employees as part of a fresh round of cuts in the company’s home state of Washington – and software engineers once again appear to be bearing the brunt.

According to Worker Adjustment and Training Notification (WARN) filings, 305 Washington-based staff in total are affected. Organizations are required to file notifications on layoffs to provide staff ample time to seek alternative employment.

ITPro approached Microsoft for comment on the layoffs, but did not receive a response at time of publication.

In a statement given to The Seattle Times, the tech giant said its continues to “implement organisations changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace”.

While these latest cuts equate to just under 1% of the company’s overall workforce, they come just weeks after it announced sizable layoffs affecting around 6,000 workers globally.

Of those, nearly 2,000 staff at its Redmond headquarters were affected – with a significant portion of those in software engineering roles.

This latest round of cuts also appears to disproportionately affect software engineers and developers, according to reports. Documents obtained by GeekWire show 22% of the affected employees were in software engineering, equivalent to 67 workers.

Other roles affected include product management, product marketing, business program management, and technical program management.

22 legal counsels are also impacted by the cuts, documents show.

While Microsoft is yet to detail the reason behind these latest cuts, the fact that software engineers are once again among the hardest hit raises questions over its current trajectory.

Chief executive Satya Nadella has made no secret of the tech giant’s push on the generative AI front internally, revealing last month that around 30% of its internal code is now AI-generated.

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Ross Kelly is ITPro's News & Analysis Editor, responsible for leading the brand's news output and in-depth reporting on the latest stories from across the business technology landscape. Ross was previously a Staff Writer, during which time he developed a keen interest in cyber security, business leadership, and emerging technologies.

He graduated from Edinburgh Napier University in 2016 with a BA (Hons) in Journalism, and joined ITPro in 2022 after four years working in technology conference research.

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