Microsoft to Lay Off 10,000 Workers as It Looks to Trim Costs

Author: Editors Desk Source: N.Y Times

January 18, 2023 at 10:59

Like other tech companies, Microsoft expanded rapidly during the pandemic.Credit...Jovelle Tamayo for The New York Times

The job cuts, which amount to less than 5 percent of the company’s work force, are its largest in roughly eight years.

Microsoft plans to lay off 10,000 workers, the company said Wednesday, as it looks to trim costs amid economic uncertainty and to refocus on strategic priorities, such as artificial intelligence.

The company employed about 221,000 workers as of the end of June, and the cuts amount to less than 5 percent of its global work force.

With the cuts, Microsoft becomes the latest tech giant to pull back after a frenzied few years of hiring, when the pandemic-fueled surge in online services and the expansion of cloud computing created fierce competition for tech talent.

“These are the kinds of hard choices we have made throughout our 47-year history to remain a consequential company in this industry that is unforgiving to anyone who doesn’t adapt to platform shifts,” Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, said in a message to staff.

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