Reports from multiple sources are pointing to imminent massive job cuts by the tech giant Microsoft. According to the media reports, Microsoft is preparing to let go of 5% of its total workforce of more than 221,000, which will amount to about 11,000. Microsoft will be following other tech giants like Meta, Twitter, Salesforce, and Amazon among others, who have been massively laying off staff since last year in response to a global economic downturn. While Microsoft is yet to confirm or deny the reports, Bloomberg reported that the software company plans to cut jobs in some engineering divisions, citing people familiar with the matter.
Microsoft is due to announce its quarterly earnings next week, and Sky News sources believe details about the impending job cuts could be released before then.
Early warning: Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella warned in October 2022 of the need to manage cost structure and respond to increased headwinds. It is also fighting to keep a proposed acquisition of games publisher Activision Blizzard alive, with regulatory scrutiny against the deal increasing.
Unending tech layoffs: Although industry analysts already predicted that the wave of layoffs that started last year may not end until mid-2023, the scale at which it is happening has been getting worse since the beginning of this year.
Earlier this year, Salesforce announced plans to cut off 10% of its workforce, which will affect over 7,000 workers in the company. A few days later, Amazon also came out with its plans to lay off 18,000 people as a result of uncertainties in the economy. Facebook parent Meta had last year announced 11,000 job cuts, the largest in the company’s history. Before that, Twitter had laid off almost half of its workforce as Elon Musk took over the ownership of the social media company.
- Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg as well as Salesforce’s Marc Benioff, have blamed themselves for over-hiring early on in the pandemic and misreading how a surge in demand for their products would cool once Covid-19 restrictions eased.
