Microsoft Sacks Over 6,000 Workers, about 3% of its Total Workforce

On Tuesday, Microsoft revealed that it was cutting off around 6,000 workers, or about 3% of its total staff. These layoffs, which will affect workers across all of Microsoft’s businesses, are the largest since the company fired off 10,000 workers in 2023.

The business stated in a statement that while the layoffs are anticipated to affect all levels and regions, they would primarily target lowering managerial levels. On Tuesday, notices were sent out.

According to The Associated Press, the computer giant did not reveal the precise number of jobs lost, but it is estimated to be around 6,000.

And also In a statement to The Verge, Microsoft spokesperson Pete Wootton said, “We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace.”

The writer expresses the fact that he is aware that all Microsoft employees, including those at Microsoft-owned LinkedIn and certain overseas operations, will be affected by the layoffs. Only a few weeks have passed since Microsoft CFO Amy Hood alluded to a reduction in the company’s levels of management. Hood stated on April 30th, “We are still focused on creating high-performing teams and improving our agility by cutting layers and having fewer managers.” Earlier this year, Microsoft also began implementing “performance-based” cuts that have affected hundreds of workers. Additionally, she pointed out that the company’s March headcount was 2% greater than it was a year ago and marginally lower than it was at the end of 2024.

The most recent layoffs occur over a year after Microsoft fired 1,900 workers from Activision Blizzard and Xbox and shut down a number of game studios in May 2024, including Redfall creator Arkane Austin and Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks. Later, Tango Gameworks made a comeback through an agreement with Krafton.

As part of a reorganization associated with the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft also let go of 650 additional Xbox workers in September. In June, Microsoft also laid off over 1,000 workers from its Azure cloud and HoloLens divisions.

“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft representative explained in a statement.

“To enhance our efficiency, we will minimize redundancy by streamlining our processes, procedures and roles,” the organization stated.

According to company figures, Microsoft, which has its headquarters in Redmond, Washington, employed 228,000 people worldwide as of June 2024.

In 2023, the business laid off 11,000 employees across offices across the globe, marking its most recent significant workforce decrease.

The announcement coincides with Microsoft’s ongoing impressive sales and financial results. Microsoft reported it made $70.1 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, up 13% from the same period the previous year, in a quarterly financial report that was made public last month.

Also CrowdStrike, a producer of cybersecurity software, said last week that it will fire 5% of its employees.

After the business’s Azure cloud revenue growth was slower than anticipated and unrelated to artificial intelligence, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella informed investors in January that the company will be making changes to its sales performance. AI cloud growth performance exceeded internal forecasts.

“Go-to-market, how do you actually adjust the incentives?” Nadella stated. “You kind of want to make sure that you lean into even the new design wins at a time when platforms are shifting, and you just don’t keep doing the stuff that you did in the previous generation.” 

The closing price of Microsoft’s stock on Monday was $449.26, the highest level this year. Last July, they closed at a record $467.56.