Thousands of jobs go as Microsoft trims workforce again
The tech giant began sending out lay-off notices on Wednesday that hit the company's Xbox video game business and other divisions.
Among those losing their jobs are 830 workers tied to Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, according to a notice sent to state officials on Wednesday.
Microsoft said the cuts will affect multiple teams around the world, including its sales division, part of organisational changes needed to succeed in a "dynamic marketplace". The company won't say the total number of lay-offs except that it was about four per cent of the workforce it had a year ago.
A memo to gaming division employees from Xbox CEO Phil Spencer said the cuts would position the video game business "for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas".
Xbox would "follow Microsoft's lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness," Spencer wrote.
Microsoft employed 228,000 full-time workers as of June 2024, the last time it reported its annual headcount. Its latest lay-offs would cut fewer than four per cent of that workforce, according to Microsoft.
But it has already had at least three lay-offs this year and it's unlikely that new hiring has matched the amount lost. Either way, a four per cent cut would amount to somewhere in the range of 9000 people.
Until now, this year's biggest lay-off was in May, when Microsoft began laying off about 6000 workers, nearly three per cent of its global workforce and its largest job cuts in more than two years.
The cutbacks come as Microsoft continues to invest huge amounts of money in the data centres, specialised computer chips and other infrastructure needed to advance its AI ambitions.
The company anticipated those expenses would cost it about $US80 billion ($A120 billion) in the last fiscal year. Its new fiscal year began on Tuesday.
Microsoft's chief financial officer Amy Hood said on an April earnings call that the company was focused on "building high-performing teams and increasing our agility by reducing layers with fewer managers".
The trimming of the Xbox staff follows Microsoft's years-long expansion of the business surrounding its gaming console, culminating in 2023 with the $US75.4 billion ($A115 billion) acquisition of Activision Blizzard - the California-based maker of hit franchises like Call of Duty and Candy Crush.
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