Microsoft to lay off 6,000 workers despite streak of profitable quarters

Microsoft says it is laying disconnected astir 3% of its full workforce.

The tech elephantine didn’t disclose the full magnitude of mislaid jobs, but it volition magnitude to astir 6,000 people. Microsoft employed 228,000 full-time workers arsenic of past June, the past clip it reported its yearly headcount. About 55% of those workers were successful the U.S.

Microsoft, based successful Redmond, Washington, said the layoffs volition beryllium crossed each levels and geographies but volition absorption connected reducing absorption levels. Notices went retired connected Tuesday.

“We proceed to instrumentality organizational changes indispensable to champion presumption the institution for occurrence successful a dynamic marketplace,” a connection from the institution reads.

Microsoft announced a smaller circular of performance-based layoffs successful January. But the 3% cuts volition beryllium Microsoft’s biggest reported layoffs since aboriginal 2023, erstwhile the institution chopped 10,000 workers, astir 5% of its workforce, joining different tech companies that were scaling backmost their pandemic-era expansions.

The latest layoffs travel conscionable weeks aft Microsoft reported beardown income and profits that bushed Wall Street expectations for the January-March quarter, which investors took arsenic a dose of alleviation during a turbulent clip for the tech assemblage and US economy. Microsoft has exceeded Wall Street’s net estimates for the past 4 quarters successful a row.

The company’s main fiscal officer, Amy Hood, said connected an April net telephone that the institution was focused connected “building high-performing teams and expanding our agility by reducing layers with less managers”. She besides said the headcount successful March was 2% higher than a twelvemonth earlier, and down somewhat compared to the extremity of past year.