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Time of India
15 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Microsoft plans another round of layoffs in July 2025 — Which teams could be hit after 6,000+ job cuts already this year?
Microsoft's layoff for next month: Microsoft layoffs in 2025 are escalating again as the tech giant prepares for another round of job cuts, targeting its Xbox division and sales teams in early July 2025. Following May's culling of over 6,000 roles across engineering and product areas and subsequent cuts in customer-facing units, this marks Microsoft's third major downsizing this year. Driven by a strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence and massive investment in data centers, this workforce shake-up underscores the tension between innovation and human cost. As layoffs hit across divisions, employees and analysts are watching closely—will this reshape Microsoft's structure and culture? Stay tuned as we unpack the latest developments and what they mean for the tech landscape. Microsoft to fire more employees According to those familiar with the plans, Microsoft will carry out a larger company-wide restructure next week, including another round of significant layoffs in its Xbox gaming sector. This is the fourth major layoff at Xbox in 18 months, and managers anticipate huge cuts throughout the gaming department. Xbox will be responsible for any impending layoffs, affecting thousands of workers in sales divisions. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft has a history of making organizational changes during this time, and the layoffs coincide with the company's fiscal year ending on June 30. Pressure on Microsoft's gaming division's profits This could be the fourth major layoff at the company in the past 18 months | Credit: Pixaby Microsoft executives have been putting increasing pressure on Xbox to increase its profit margins before the $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard concluded in 2023. Several staff reductions have occurred in the gaming division, including 1,900 layoffs in January 2024, 650 reductions in September, and the closing of other game studios, including Redfall producer Arkane Austin and Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks. According to sources, Microsoft is reorganizing Xbox distribution in central Europe, with certain regional offices completely shutting down. According to The Verge, these adjustments are meant to streamline operations and align the company with next-generation platform development. This year's third significant layoff at Microsoft will also impact the company's sales and marketing division After 6,000 layoffs in May and more than 300 more weeks later, the Xbox layoffs mark Microsoft's third significant employment decrease in 2025. The corporation has previously stated that it will lay off about 3% of its 228,000 employees to reduce expenses and flatter management. With some 45,000 employees, Microsoft's sales and marketing division will be most affected by the impending layoffs. The reorganization reflects the tech giant's ambition to balance operational efficiency across other business areas and significant AI investments, which are expected to total $80 billion for data center spending this fiscal year. Regarding the anticipated layoffs, Microsoft chose not to comment. For the latest and more interesting tech news, keep reading Indiatimes Tech.
IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
The urgent need for solutions to Durban's non-revenue water problem
The eThekwini Municipality faces significant challenges with non-revenue water, impacting its financial stability and service delivery. Image: Pixaby Non-revenue water continues to be a thorn in the side of the eThekwini Municipality, with rural areas proving to be the Achilles heel for the municipality. The eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS) stated that commercial losses as per quarter 3 totalled 238,172 Kilolitres per day. The quarter 3 non-revenue water report was presented to the eThekwini Executive Committee meeting (Exco) on Tuesday. The EWS also stated that 41,253 meters were not billed, with domestic households accounting for 39,281 and non-domestic households accounting for 1,972. It also reported that 85,000 meters were regarded as zero consumption meters, where each month the reading remained the same, with the rural areas proving to be problematic. Some of the reasons for zero consumption meters were attributed to the intermittent water supply that caused particles to hinder the meter's operations. The EWS also found that meters were over 15 years old and needed replacement. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading The EWS was looking towards the Water Turnaround Strategy to give them the financial muscle to implement their sales revenue generation model strategy, i.e., stabilise, sustain, and enhance. It, once again, stated that it needed to have a stock of meters, fittings, and pipes, which is estimated at R45 million. Ednick Msweli, head of EWS, stated that they held a two-day non-revenue water workshop this week to discuss issues, and also noted that the water supply was stable in all areas. Councillor Zandile Myeni, the eThekwini deputy mayor, expressed concern about unfunded projects. 'The issue of non-revenue raises concerns. If we have a strategy with no funding, we are not moving forward, and we need to find a solution fast,' she said. As part of the debt reduction strategy, the eThekwini Trading Services reported that it reviews disconnections for arrears, investigations, and tampering weekly. During May 2025, the municipal disconnections committee recorded the performance on water disconnections totalling 3,852 and valued at R238 million.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Hindustan Times
PNB senior branch manager, another held in ₹183 cr fake bank guarantee scam
The CBI has arrested two persons, including a senior branch manager of Punjab National Bank (PNB), in connection with a ₹ 183.21 crore counterfeit bank guarantee scam linked to irrigation projects in Madhya Pradesh, blowing the lid of an inter-state gang that was providing fabricated bank guarantees to secure government projects, officials said on Friday. The Madhya Pradesh High Court had earlier transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).(Pixaby/Representational Image) The CBI took into custody Govind Chandra Hansda, senior manager at PNB, and Mohammed Firoz Khan from Kolkata following an extensive search operation spanning 23 locations across five states -- Delhi, West Bengal, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. The operation commenced on Thursday and continued into Friday, the officials said. The agency registered a formal case in the matter based on allegations that Indore-based Teerth Gopicon Limited, which was awarded three irrigation contracts valued at ₹ 974 crore in 2023, submitted fraudulent bank guarantees amounting to ₹ 183.21 crore to the Madhya Pradesh Jal Nigam Limited (MPJNL). The Madhya Pradesh High Court transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). "During initial verification, MPJNL received fraudulent email responses impersonating the official domain of Punjab National Bank, falsely confirming the authenticity of the bank guarantees. Relying on these confirmations, MPJNL awarded three contracts valued at over ₹ 974 crore to the firm," a CBI spokesperson said. The CBI's inquiry revealed the involvement of a Kolkata-based syndicate that was "systematically fabricating and circulating fake bank guarantees" to obtain government contracts across several states, the agency said.
IOL News
17-06-2025
- IOL News
Durban's strategy to combat illegal water connections and boost supply
Two suburbs within the eThekwini Municipality have been found to have connected to the water supply illegally. Image: Pixaby Two suburbs within the eThekwini Municipality have been found to have connected to the water supply illegally, which is one of the issues the city is dealing with, including beefing up security around infrastructure. The areas identified by the municipality as "off the system" were Trenance Park 3 and Luganda in Umlazi. The municipality was concerned that the Trenance Park 3 system remains a major problem due to the increase in illegal connections and rapid development in the area. The city plans to redesign infrastructure to meet current needs, considering changes in communities and infrastructure performance. Richard Mngoma, the deputy head of Operations at the eThekwini Water and Sanitation Unit, presented the state of water supply report city-wide at the Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday. Mngoma said the supply to the inner-west, outer-west, central, south, and north regions has stabilised, but the water demand exceeded the supply in some areas. Mngoma said the water supply in Umlazi is still intermittent since there is still water rationing, but the city intends to stop water rationing from June 23, 2025, and monitor if the system is able to stabilise. The night shuts will still be in place for the Umlazi 2 zone and downstream, he said. He stated that, in terms of the Infrastructure Leakage Index (ILI), the city was still ranked low and that emergency interventions need to be implemented to address severe leaks and bursts. The city was also in the process of issuing performance-based contracts to get value for money, reduce non-revenue water, and improve the water supply. Councillor Zandile Myeni, deputy mayor and chairperson of the Security and Emergency Services Committee, called for more focus on the money spent on private security companies and the value for money the city is getting when municipal infrastructure continues to be vandalised. Myeni is also concerned that the city is not receiving proper reports on vandalism and called for the SAPS and Durban metro police to be involved in protecting water and electricity infrastructure. Mdu Nkosi, IFP Exco member, said the metro police were previously funded for providing additional security and called for a probe into the matter. According to eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba, hiring private security was a huge cost to the city, and he called for councillors to motivate communities to assist in protecting municipal infrastructure. "We are making progress, we won't lift our foot off the pedal and will continue to press on until we get satisfactory levels," Xaba said. [email protected]
