Microsoft layoffs hit 830 workers in home state of Washington
Nearly a dozen game design workers in the state were part of the layoffs, along with three audio designers, two mechanical engineers, one optical engineer and one lab technician, according to a document Microsoft submitted to Washington employment officials.
There were also five individual contributors and one manager at the Microsoft Research division in the cuts, as well as 10 lawyers and six hardware engineers, the document shows.
Microsoft announced plans on Wednesday to eliminate 9,000 jobs, as part of an effort to eliminate redundancy and to encourage employees to focus on more meaningful work by adopting new technologies, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. The person asked not to be named while discussing private matters.
Scores of Microsoft salespeople and video game developers have since come forward on social media to announce their departure. In April, Microsoft said revenue from Xbox content and services grew 8%, trailing overall growth of 13%.
In sales, the company parted ways with 16 customer success account management staff members based in Washington, 28 in sales strategy enablement and another five in sales compensation. One Washington-based government affairs worker was also laid off.
Microsoft eliminated 17 jobs in cloud solution architecture in the state, according to the document. The company's fastest revenue growth comes from Azure and other cloud services that customers buy based on usage.
CEO Satya Nadella has not publicly commented on the layoffs, and Microsoft didn't immediately provide a comment about the cuts in Washington. On a conference call with analysts in April, Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said the company had a "focus on cost efficiencies" during the March quarter.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Consider 2 investment trusts and funds to target £160k from a £20k lump sum!
I believe these high-growth investment trusts and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could be excellent wealth creators over the next decade. Here's why they're worth further research today. The technology sector is packed with investment potential. US chip-making giant Nvidia's rise to become the most expensive company in history (market cap: $3.92trn) on Thursday (3 July) underlines this point. But while megatrends like artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and cloud computing are tipped for stratospheric growth, knowing which companies to buy to capitalise on them can be difficult. BlackBerry and Yahoo! are just a couple of former giants that failed to keep up with technological shifts. Investment trusts like Polar Capital Technology Trust (LSE:PCT) help reduce this problem for us. This particular operation is invested in 98 different tech shares. These range from semiconductor manufacturers to software developers (like Microsoft), smartphone makers (such as Apple) and online retailers (like Amazon). It's critical to remember that many of the tech stocks it owns (such as Nvidia) command high valuations. As a result, the fund could fall sharply if market sentiment towards the sector begins to sour. But I think the long-term benefits of ownership outweigh this possibility. Since 2015, the trust has delivered an average annual return of 19.9%. One final thing: total the trust trades at a 9.2% discount to its net asset value (NAV) per share. European defence shares have (largely) performed extremely strongly since Russia's invasion of Ukraine just over three years ago. With rising defence spending since then, it seems as if the sector has further room to grow. The VanEck Defence UCITS ETF (LSE:DFNS) could be a a great fund to consider in this landscape. While there are uncertainties over future US defence spending, expenditure in Europe is expected to soar to pick up the slack and respond to perceptions of a rising global threats. Defence-related expenditure has risen by three-quarters since early 2022, according to analysts at Allianz. And they think spending will have to rise significantly if NATO members are to meet a target to spend 3.5% on core defence (such as weapons and manpower) by 2035. It projects, for instance, that Germany will have to spend an extra $64bn per year, Italy $47bn, France $45bn and the UK $41bn, relative to last year's levels. This bodes well for the 29 defence contractors that this VanEck ETF owns. These include US industry giants like Palantir and RTX, alongside Europe-based companies like Thales and Leonardo. As the fund was only launched in March 2023, it's not possible to compare any sort of long-term returns as I can with Polar Capital. But since 2023, it's provided an average annual return of 22% with the total return in that period being 57.3%. Past performance isn't a reliable guide to the future. But I'm optimistic it can continue delivering strong returns in the developing geopolitical landscape. That's despite ongoing challenges in defence, like supply chain disruptions and rising costs. If VanEck's fund can replicate recent returns, and Polar Capital can maintain its performance since 2015, a £10,000 lump sum invested equally across them could turn into £160,384 within 10 years. Things could go wrong too and investors could lose money. But I still think both are worth consideration now. The post Consider 2 investment trusts and funds to target £160k from a £20k lump sum! appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Royston Wild has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
4 ways Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' could impact your wallet
The "Big Beautiful Bill" is headed to President Donald Trump's desk. It includes a repeal of student loan forgiveness and an increased child tax credit. It also includes new "Trump accounts" and changes to Medicaid and SNAP. From taxes to student loan forgiveness, provisions in President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" will soon be impacting Americans' wallets. On Thursday, the House passed the final version of the bill, which would extend the president's 2017 tax cuts and make key changes to the tax system, along with implementing significant changes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Beyond the effects on Americans' wallets, the legislation provides roughly $150 billion to ramp up immigration enforcement. The bill first passed the House in May before undergoing changes in the Senate, where it narrowly passed on Tuesday. Trump could sign the bill into law as soon as Friday, July 4. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill would add at least $3.3 trillion to the US deficit. In May, Moody's Analytics downgraded the US's credit rating last week, citing rising federal debt. It said an extension of Trump's 2017 taxes could add $4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. This could lead to higher interest rates on mortgages, auto loans, and more down the road. Here are four other key ways the tax bill could affect Americans' finances. Many of Trump's campaign promises are included in the tax bill. The legislation would eliminate taxes on tips and overtime wages. About two-thirds of tipped workers earn enough to owe federal income tax. After a final bill is signed, the Trump administration will release a list of qualifying occupations. The Senate bill includes a $6,000 tax deduction for older people making less than $75,000 a year ($150,000 for couples). Seniors making above that threshold would see a decreasing deduction until hitting a cap of $175,000 ($250,000 for couples.) Lower-income seniors likely won't benefit from the deduction. The provision is how lawmakers are trying to fulfill Trump's promise to end taxes on Social Security payments. The deduction would run through 2028. Another provision would permanently raise the child tax credit to $2,200. Additionally, it would eliminate electric vehicle tax credits after September. It also proposes ending tax credits for homeowners to install solar panels or energy-efficient heat pumps and incentives for new energy-efficient homes and home weatherization projects by the end of this year. The bill would also make Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent and increase the state and local tax deduction, known as SALT, from $10,000 to $40,000 in 2025, $40,400 in 2026, and increase an additional 1% every year through 2029 before reverting to $10,000 in 2030. Lifting the SALT cap allows wealthy taxpayers in states and cities with high taxes to claim a bigger federal deduction, and the cap is something some Republican lawmakers have sought to raise or eliminate. Under the Senate bill, millions of student loan borrowers would see their repayment options change. The legislation proposes eliminating existing income-driven repayment plans and replacing them with two options: the Repayment Assistance Plan and a standard repayment plan. The Repayment Assistance Plan would allow for loan forgiveness after 360 qualifying payments based on the borrowers' income, while the standard repayment plan would require a fixed monthly payment over a period set by the servicer. The bill also would repeal former President Joe Biden's SAVE plan, an income-driven repayment plan that promised cheaper monthly payments and a shorter timeline for debt relief. The plan is blocked in court pending a final legal decision. If the bill passes, parents could get extra money for their kids down the line. The tax bill includes a "Trump account," previously called a "money account for growth and advancement," or MAGA account. The government would put $1,000 into accounts for babies born after December 31, 2024, and before January 1, 2029. The baby would be required to have been born in the US and have a Social Security number to receive the cash. The money would need to be invested in a qualified index fund and can't be touched until the child turns 18. Parents and others could contribute up to $5,000 a year to each account. The accounts would have tax incentives; earnings would be tax-deferred, meaning taxes on the accounts would not need to be paid right away. Withdrawals from the accounts would also be taxed at the long-term capital-gains rate, which is dependent on income and typically lower than the regular income tax rate. Lower-income Americans could face bigger healthcare costs or lose federal assistance benefits. The tax bill would mean significant changes for the millions who rely on Medicaid and SNAP. The legislation would mandate that states implement an 80-hour-a-month work requirement by the end of 2026 for childless adults on Medicaid without a disability. The Congressional Budget Office previously estimated that work requirements on Medicaid could strip coverage from over 8 million Americans over the next decade. Additionally, the bill would extend the age range of adults subject to work requirements to receive SNAP to include adults ages 55 to 64. Currently, adults ages 18 to 54 without children can receive SNAP benefits only if they work at least 20 hours a week. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Upturn
an hour ago
- Business Upturn
Capital markets stocks crash: Angel One down 5.5%, Nuvama Wealth down 6%, BSE and CDSL slip after Jane Street SEBI ban
By Aditya Bhagchandani Published on July 4, 2025, 10:04 IST Shares of India's capital market-related companies fell sharply on Friday, July 4, after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) barred US-based trading firm Jane Street from accessing Indian markets over alleged manipulation. Nuvama Wealth Management shares dropped around 6%, Angel One fell 5.5%, while BSE and CDSL also opened lower before partially recovering from their day's lows. SEBI's order stated that unlawful gains worth approximately ₹4,843 crore by Jane Street and others will be impounded. Angel One stock was also under pressure after its monthly business update showed signs of slowing growth. The broking platform reported a 41% YoY drop in gross client acquisition in June to 0.55 million, though the client base still grew 31% YoY. The number of orders processed declined 31% YoY to 114.95 million, while average daily orders dropped 38% YoY to 5.47 million. The broader weakness in the sector reflects investor concerns over regulatory tightening and operational headwinds in capital market intermediaries following the SEBI action against Jane Street. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aditya Bhagchandani serves as the Senior Editor and Writer at Business Upturn, where he leads coverage across the Business, Finance, Corporate, and Stock Market segments. With a keen eye for detail and a commitment to journalistic integrity, he not only contributes insightful articles but also oversees editorial direction for the reporting team.
