Microsoft slashes 10,000 jobs

Microsoft plans to let go of 10,000 employees over the next few months, according to a statement released by the tech giant’s CEO Satya Nadella.

The computer giant has confirmed in a blog that it will be slashing just under five per cent of its entire workforce between now and the end of the year.

In the blog, published on Microsoft’s website this morning, employees were told that the cuts come at a time when “organisations in every industry and geography exercise caution as some parts of the world are in a recession and other parts are anticipating one.”

Nadella added that while the firm was “eliminating roles in some areas” it would  continue to hire in key strategic areas including the next major wave of computing and AI.

Nadella suggested that the layoffs were also a response to a post lockdown change in market demand.

“We saw customers accelerate their digital spend during the pandemic…we’re now seeing them optimise their digital spend to do more with less,” he said.

Microsoft is not alone in making significant job cuts, as it joins other Big Tech firms in shedding its numbers.

Last week Amazon announced that it was axing over 18,000 jobs (in its biggest ever round of job cuts) while cloud software provider Salesforce is cutting its workforce by 10% (8,000 jobs).

According to Bloomberg News, Microsoft plans to cut jobs in a number of engineering divisions, and Insider reported that Microsoft may cut recruitment by as much as one-third.

Big tech’s big layoffs ramped up last autumn, with Twitter slashing thousands of jobs under its new owner Elon Musk while Meta announced it would reduce its workforce by around 11,000 roles and computer manufacturer HP axed 6,000 roles.

In an interview with CNBC earlier this month, Microsoft’s chairman and chief executive said that Microsoft wasn’t “immune to global challenges,” including “real recession” in several parts of the world.

Nadella warned the tech industry should prepare for two more years of struggle before seeing progress again.