Microsoft To Cut 9,000 Workers In Second Wave Of Major Layoffs

Microsoft Corp. began job cuts that will impact about 9,000 workers, a second major wave of layoffs this year as it seeks to control costs.

Less than 4% of the company’s total workforce will be impacted, a spokesperson said. The cuts will have an impact across teams, geographies and tenure and are made in an effort to streamline processes and reduce layers of management, the spokesperson said.

“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” the spokesperson said.

Bloomberg previously reported that Microsoft was planning to slash thousands of jobs in July, which would target salespeople and also affect divisions including Xbox. The terminations follow an earlier round of layoffs in May that hit 6,000 people and fell hardest on product and engineering positions.

The company had 228,000 workers at the end of June 2024, 45,000 of them in sales and marketing. Microsoft often restructures teams and announces other changes near the end of its fiscal year, which closes in June.

Microsoft’s top sales executive, Judson Althoff, is planning to take a two-month sabbatical this month, Bloomberg reported last month. The company has said his leave had been previously planned and that he will return in September.