Microsoft is planning to lay off thousands of employees next month, mainly from its sales teams, according to a report. This comes just a few weeks after the company let go of 6,000 workers in May.
The tech giant is making these cuts as it increases its investment in artificial intelligence (AI). To manage these rising costs, Microsoft is reducing spending in other areas, including its workforce.
Read more: Intel to Lay Off 10,000+ Employees Without Severance Pay
- The new round of job cuts is expected to happen in early July, after Microsoft’s fiscal year ends.
- While the final number of layoffs is not confirmed, sources say the cuts will mainly affect sales and support teams.
- These changes are part of Microsoft’s strategy to restructure and realign resources towards AI growth.
- Microsoft has not made any public statement about the latest round of layoffs.
Previous Layoffs in May:
- In May, Microsoft laid off 6,000 employees — about 3% of its total workforce.
- Most of those jobs were in product and engineering departments.
- Customer-facing roles, like sales and marketing, were mostly unaffected at that time.
Why Microsoft Is Making These Changes:
- CEO Satya Nadella explained in a recent company meeting that the layoffs are part of an internal reorganization.
- He said the cuts are not because of poor performance, but to match the company’s new priorities, especially its focus on AI.
- Microsoft wants to use its resources more efficiently as it spends billions on AI infrastructure like servers and data centers.
As of June 2024, Microsoft had about 2,28,000 employees working in sales and marketing.
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These job cuts reflect how big tech companies are adjusting their workforce to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
