Microsoft Layoffs in the News (at Long Last)

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jan 18, 2023,
updated Jan 19, 2023

• Microsoft Prepares to Lay Off Thousands of Employees, Including in Azure-Related Units — The Information [Ed: Azure is failing; Microsoft keeps bombarding the term "Azure" to distract from layoffs there, e.g. "Microsoft expands ChatGPT access to Azure". Microsoft PR people know exactly what they're doing and they try hard to belittle what actual goes on at the moment (staff is in a state of panic/trauma). Apparently "Bing" too has been hit hard by the layoffs, so Microsoft googlebombs the term with "Hey Hi" (AI) fluff and nonsense.]

  Microsoft is preparing to lay off thousands of staff in multiple divisions starting as soon as Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

• Microsoft layoffs: Big job cuts reportedly coming | CNN Business

• Microsoft Layoffs May Impact 11,000 Jobs In HR And Engineering Departments: Report [Ed: It is a lot more than 11,000 and only the start (similar to Facebook numbers)]

  In a fresh round of mass layoffs, it is the Microsoft layoffs. As per media reports, just days after vacating its US office along with Meta, the tech giant, Microsoft, is resorting to axing as many as 11,000 jobs.

• Microsoft could layoff 11,000 employees: Reports | Computerworld

  The new offers being made are 30% less in compensation as compared with previous offers made for similar positions at the company, the report claims.

• Microsoft Layoff: Twitterati share memes to react to the retrenchment trend [Ed: Microsoft sites pretend the Microsoft layoffs are just some memes and gossip]

  Microsoft is set to lay off thousands of employees today, reports suggest. The layoffs would be the latest in the US technology sector, where companies including Amazon.com Inc and Meta Platforms Inc have announced retrenchment exercises in response to slowing demand and a worsening global economic outlook.

• Irish jobs at risk as Microsoft plans 5% cut to global workforce

  Microsoft employs over 3,500 people in Ireland, many at its One Microsoft Place campus in Leopardstown, south Dublin.

• Report: Microsoft plans to lay off as many as 11,000 people Wednesday [Ed: A lot more than this if one counts contractors and temps]

  Microsoft appears set to be the next tech giant to slash its workforce in anticipation of a global economic slowdown.

• Microsoft reportedly to lay off employees this week - GeekWire

  Microsoft reports is second fiscal quarter earnings next Tuesday. The company’s stock is down more than 20% in the past year.

• Microsoft to lay off thousands of employees today: Report

  The cuts also come just weeks after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned of two years of challenges ahead for the tech industry. In an interview with CNBC, Nadella admitted Microsoft wasn*t "immune to the global changes" and spoke of the need for tech companies to be efficient.

• Microsoft to lay off thousands of employees today: Report

  Microsoft is set to lay off thousands of employees today. Citing Sky News, Reuters reported that thousands of roles would be cut, with the software giant looking to cut around 5 per cent of its workforce or about 11,000 roles.

• Microsoft to cut thousands of jobs - reports

  Other reports suggested jobs would be cut in a number of engineering division, and recruitment staff were also facing the chop.

Update (more links):

• Microsoft set to lay off thousands of employees tomorrow

  Microsoft is preparing to announce job cuts tomorrow. Sky News reports that thousands of roles will be cut, with the software giant said to be looking at cutting around 5 percent of its workforce. With more than 220,000 employees at Microsoft, that could mean more than 10,000 layoffs.

• Microsoft to cut thousands of jobs across divisions - reports

  The company plans to cut jobs in a number of engineering divisions on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported, according to a person familiar with the matter, while Insider reported that Microsoft could cut recruiting staff by as much as one-third.

  The cuts will be significantly larger than other rounds in the past year, the Bloomberg report said.

• Microsoft is reportedly planning to layoff 11,000 employees

Some Microsoft spin:

• Microsoft (MSFT) Might Cut 11,000 Jobs Amid Market Turmoil - January 18, 2023 - Zacks.com

  The company is expected to cut 11,000 jobs in a fresh round of mass layoffs, which amounts to around 5% of the workforce being fired.

• Microsoft is laying off 10,000 employees [Ed: Microsoft's longtime media mole Jordan Novet is making up false numbers, in effect lying for Microsoft as usual]

The day after (more coverage):

• Microsoft to cut 10,000 jobs as global growth slows

  In a blog post, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company was seeking to align its cost structure with projected revenues and where customer demand remained the strongest.

• Microsoft Laying Off 10,000 Employees Amid Business Slowdown

  Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the layoffs in a memo to staff Wednesday, which the company disclosed in an SEC filing. The job cuts will occur through the end of Microsoft’s third quarter of fiscal 2023, which ends March 31. Some employees are being notified today that they’re losing their jobs, Nadella wrote.

  In addition to the layoffs, Microsoft is taking other cost-cutting actions, including making “changes to our hardware portfolio” — which it didn’t detail — and consolidating building leases “to create higher density across our workspaces,” the company said in the SEC filing. All together, Microsoft said the moves will result in a charge of $1.2 billion for the December 2022 quarter, representing a 12 cent/share hit to diluted earnings.

• Microsoft slashes 10,000 jobs, the latest in a wave of layoffs

  The cuts, which affect less than 5% of the company's workforce, come as Microsoft customers pull back on spending, Nadella said. He added that the company is also looking to expand in new areas, including artificial intelligence.

• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella confirms plan to lay off 10,000 workers

  Microsoft had reported its slowest growth in five years for the first quarter of its fiscal 2023, due largely to a strong US dollar and an ongoing decline in personal computer sales, causing net income to fall by 14% to $17.56 billion from this time last year.

• Microsoft to shed 10,000 jobs, adding to glut of tech layoffs

  Microsoft has looked at adding to its $1-billion stake in OpenAI, the startup behind the Silicon Valley chatbot sensation known as ChatGPT, which Microsoft plans to soon market through its cloud service.

• Tech layoffs 2023 tracker: Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Salesforce announce big job cuts

  Microsoft Corp said Wednesday it will cut 10,000 jobs this year, or about 5% of its workforce, which will result in a $1.2 billion charge in the fiscal second quarter. Chief executive officer Satya Nadella said in a blog post and internal email to employees that the company will continue to hire in “key strategic areas.”

• Tech Layoffs Mount as Microsoft, Amazon Shed Staff

  The phenomenon of job losses in the tech sector has global reach but has been keenly felt in Silicon Valley and other West Coast tech hubs in the United States. The website layoffs.fyi, which tracks job cuts in the tech industry, has identified well over 100 tech firms announcing layoffs since January 1 across North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. In all, the website has counted more than 1,200 firms making layoffs since the beginning of 2022.

• Microsoft to Lay Off 10,000 Employees as Tech Industry Struggles Continue

  Microsoft is also seeking to become a major player in advertising and is Netflix’s global ad sales and technology partner.