Microsoft campus in Fargo (KFGO file photo)
REDMOND, WA (AP) -Microsoft launched laying off nearly 3% of its entire workforce Tuesday.
The tech giant didn’t disclose the total amount of lost jobs but it will amount to about 6,000 people. Microsoft employed 228,000 full-time workers as of last June, the last time it reported its annual headcount. About 55% of those workers were in the U.S.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, declared the layoffs will be across all levels and geographies but will focus on reducing management levels. Notices to employees launched going out on Tuesday. The company did not identify in what cities where jobs will be trimmed. Microsoft has a large campus in Fargo.
Microsoft announced a compacter round of performance-based layoffs in January. But the 3% cuts will be Microsoft’s hugegest since early 2023, when the company cut 10,000 workers, almost 5% of its workforce, joining other tech companies that were scaling back their pandemic-era expansions.
The latest layoffs come just weeks after Microsoft reported strong sales and profits that beat Wall Street expectations for the January-March quarter, which investors took as a dose of relief during a turbulent time for the tech sector and U.S. economy.
Microsoft’s chief financial officer, Amy Hood, declared on an April earnings call that the company was focutilized on “building high-performing teams and increasing our agility by reducing layers with fewer managers.” She also declared the headcount in March was 2% higher than a year earlier, and down slightly compared to the conclude of last year.
The layoffs are expected to hit across all parts of Microsoft’s business, including the career networking site LinkedIn.
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