The Redmond-based monster said more than 6,000 Voles across its empire, including LinkedIn and other wholly-owned hangers-on would be exiting the Vole hill with their belongings in photocopy boxes . This follows earlier job cuts this year that saw about 2,000 Microsoft workers shown the door.
Microsoft said: “We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace
The software giant joins Amazon and Meta in the race to slim down bloated payrolls as Big Tech bets the house on artificial intelligence while trying to fend off nippy start-ups like OpenAI.
Meta’s bosses quietly branded about five per cent of staff as duds before binning them earlier this year. With about 74,000 workers as of the end of 2024, Meta has already culled almost a quarter of its workforce in recent years.
Amazon chief Andy Jassy grumbled last year about wanting to “eliminate bureaucracy” and get a flatter structure, then promptly axed 27,000 jobs in 2023, while Amazon Web Services lopped off hundreds more in 2024.
Despite swinging the axe, Microsoft is still rolling in cash. The company beat earnings expectations for the quarter ending March and has been flexing its cloud division’s muscles. Its shares have even outpaced rivals, and it has recently clawed back the title of the world’s most valuable company.
Microsoft, chief financial officer, Amy Hood told investors last month the focus was on “building high-performing teams and increasing our agility by reducing layers with fewer managers”, which sounds a lot like getting rid of expensive middle managers.
Last year, Microsoft quietly chopped about 2,500 staffers from its Xbox division after swallowing Activision Blizzard, and another 1,000 from its HoloLens and Azure units, blaming slower revenue growth.
The company did not say whether the latest culling spree was fuelled by AI efficiencies, but Microsoft, chief executive, Satya Nadella said earlier this year that between 20 and 30 per cent of its code was now machine-made.
RBC, analyst, Rishi Jaluria said, “These quasi conglomerates just have too many layers,” adding that headcount would probably still grow, just at a snail’s pace due to “increased efficiencies”.