MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES NEW ROUND OF LAYOFFS, WHAT THE COMPANY’S SPOKESPERSON SAID

Microsoft has announced another round of job cuts, reports GeekWire. Microsoft’s fiscal year ended on June 30, 2024. As the company enters new fiscal year, it is common for it to implement organizational changes in various businesses units.

Microsoft has not revealed the number of people laid off as part of the latest layoffs. But the job cuts reportedly impact multiple teams and geographies. According to posts shared by the employee on LinkedIn, the layoffs affect people in product and program management roles.

What Microsoft said on the latest job cuts?

The report quotes a Microsoft spokesperson who said “Organizational and workforce adjustments are a necessary and regular part of managing our business.”

“We will continue to prioritize and invest in strategic growth areas for our future and in support of our customers and partners,” the spokesperson added further.

Microsoft announced several job cuts in first half of 2024

Microsoft laid off more than 1,000 employees across different businesses in June this year. Citing people familiar with the situation, reports then revealed that the company has cut jobs across Azure and HoloLens mixed reality division.

In January, the company announced job cuts of nearly 2,000 employees in its gaming unit months after it acquired Activision Blizzard in a $69 billion deal.

During the COVID pandemic, Microsoft’s workforce expanded rapidly. in 2022, the company employed 2,32,000 people, as per GeekWire's analysis of regulatory filings and earnings reports. By the end of 2023, the company's global headcount stood at approximately 227,000.

The tech industry has experienced significant job cuts this year. According to Layoffs.fyi, over 1,00,000 employees have lost their jobs in the tech industry.