Microsoft cuts hundreds more jobs weeks after 6,000 layoffs: These employees likely to be impacted

Time of India

2 days ago

Microsoft
eliminated over 300 additional jobs on Monday, just weeks after announcing its largest workforce reduction in years, according to a Washington state notice reviewed by Bloomberg. While the company has not disclosed which specific roles were targeted in the latest round, the cuts come as the Redmond giant continues restructuring efforts while investing billions in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The Monday layoffs add to the 6,000 positions Microsoft cut last month, representing the company's second-largest workforce reduction since eliminating 10,000 roles in 2023.
CEO
Satya Nadella
recently addressed the earlier cuts at an internal town hall, calling them a "realignment" rather than performance-based decisions. "This was not about people failing. It was about repositioning for what comes next," Nadella explained, referring to the company's AI transformation.
While it's not clear what departments and roles have been impacted in Monday's layoffs, based on previous layoff patterns at Microsoft, software engineers and project managers are likely to be most affected by the latest cuts.
Previous cuts targeted coders and managers
Last month's 6,000-person reduction hit software engineers hardest, with over 40% of eliminated Washington state positions belonging to coding professionals. Project management roles were also significantly impacted, accounting for nearly 30% of cuts despite Microsoft's claims of "reducing management layers."
The layoffs coincide with Microsoft's revelation that AI now writes up to 30% of code in some company projects, according to CEO Satya Nadella. The company has allocated approximately $80 billion for data center spending this fiscal year as part of its
AI infrastructure
push.
Microsoft's workforce restructuring mirrors industry-wide efficiency initiatives. Salesforce recently announced reduced engineering hiring due to AI usage, while the company joins Amazon and Google in implementing flatter organizational structures with higher engineering ratios.
As of June 2024, Microsoft employed about 228,000 full-time workers, with 55% based in the United States. The company has introduced new performance management systems, including a two-year rehire ban for performance-related departures and voluntary separation agreements offering 16 weeks of severance pay.