Microsoft has confirmed plans to cut around 3% of employees as part of a fresh cost-cutting scheme.
Initially reported by CNBC, the layoffs are set to affect around 6,000 workers globally and will span a range of divisions, locations, and seniority levels.
Among these are workers at the company’s Redmond headquarters. The state of Washington revealed on Tuesday that 1,985 of the affected employees are linked to its HQ.
Over 1,500 of these are believed to be in-office positions.
In a statement given to ITPro, a spokesperson said Microsoft will “continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace”.
The spokesperson added that a key focus in this round of layoffs is to increase operational agility by reducing layers with fewer managers. Microsoft’s chief financial officer Amy Hood hinted at potential management cuts last month.
"We continue to focus on building high-performing teams and increasing our agility by reducing layers with fewer managers," Hood said at the time.
The tech giant isn’t alone in targeting managerial roles, however. A host of major tech firms have implemented cuts to management positions in a bid to streamline operations.
Both Amazon and Google have cut management positions, for example. In December last year, Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed the company had laid off 10% of managers, directors, and VPs across the year.
As part of the move, some affected workers were reassigned to non-managerial positions, the company told ITPro at the time.
Latest Microsoft layoffs mark second batch of the year
Microsoft has already implemented workforce cuts this year, with the company revealing plans in January to reduce headcount based on performance metrics.
Again, these cuts align with a recurring trend across the industry, with firms eliminating staff who do not meet expectations.
The layoffs at Microsoft mark the largest since the tech giant cut 10,000 roles in 2023 during a year in which big tech slashed over a quarter of a million roles.
Cuts at the firm also come in the wake of positive financial results. In its latest quarterly earnings report last month, the tech giant recorded $25.8 billion in quarterly net income.
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