Microsoft to cut 9,000 jobs in fresh round of lay offs amid restructuring

India Today

9 hours ago

Microsoft will lay off nearly 4 per cent of its workforce, the company said on Wednesday, in the latest job cuts as the tech giant looks to rein in costs amid hefty investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure.The company, which had about 2,28,000 employees worldwide as of June 2024, had announced layoffs in May, affecting around 6,000 workers. It was planning to cut thousands of jobs, particularly in sales, Bloomberg News reported last month.advertisementThe Windows maker had pledged USD 80 billion in capital spending for its fiscal year 2025. However, the soaring cost of scaling its AI infrastructure has weighed on its margins, with its June quarter cloud margin expected to shrink from last year.
Microsoft said on Wednesday it planned to reduce organisational layers with fewer managers and streamline its products, procedures and roles.The Seattle Times first reported on the layoffs earlier on Wednesday. Separately, Bloomberg News reported Microsoft's Barcelona-based King division, which makes the Candy Crush video game, is cutting 10 per cent of its staff, or about 200 jobs.Big Tech peers, which are investing heavily in artificial intelligence, have also announced job cuts.Facebook parent Meta earlier this year said it would trim about 5 per cent of its "lowest performers", while Alphabet's Google has also laid off hundreds of employees in the past year.advertisementAmazon has also cut jobs across its business segments, most recently in its books division. The company had earlier laid off employees in its devices and services unit, and communications staff.Economic uncertainties and rising costs have triggered layoffs across sectors in Corporate America, as companies rush to streamline operations and hedge against further cost pressures.- Ends