Microsoft announces a 3% layoff, streamlining management levels

Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it will lay off about 3% of its workforce, affecting various levels, teams, and regions globally. As of the end of June last year, Microsoft had 228,000 employees worldwide, meaning this layoff will impact thousands of people.

This could be the largest round of layoffs at Microsoft since it laid off 10,000 employees in 2023. In January of this year, the company announced a small round of layoffs related to employee performance. According to a Microsoft spokesperson, the latest layoffs are not related to performance.

A Microsoft spokesperson stated that one goal of the layoffs is to reduce management layers. "We will continue to implement necessary organizational adjustments to best prepare the company for success in a dynamic market environment."

In the financial report released by Microsoft at the end of April, the performance exceeded expectations, with quarterly net profit reaching $25.8 billion, and an optimistic quarterly outlook forecast was issued.

In January of this year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told analysts that the non-AI portion of the company's Azure cloud business grew below expectations, and the company would make adjustments in sales execution. Meanwhile, the performance of the AI cloud business exceeded internal forecasts. Nadella stated, "How do we really adjust incentive mechanisms and market strategies? During a platform transformation period, you must actively embrace new design outcomes rather than continue using last-generation methods."

Microsoft's stock price fell slightly during trading on Tuesday, underperforming the broader U.S. stock market that day.

In January of this year, Amazon announced layoffs after discovering "unnecessary layers" within the company. Last week, cybersecurity software provider CrowdStrike announced it would lay off 5%