Tech giant Microsoft has announced plans to lay off approximately 9,000 employees in a new round of job cuts aimed at streamlining operations and enhancing agility within its global workforce.
The reduction represents less than 4% of the company’s total headcount and will impact employees across various teams, geographic locations, and experience levels.
“We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.
This move follows several previous workforce reductions by the company this year. In January, Microsoft cut under 1% of its staff, citing performance reasons. It went on to eliminate over 6,000 roles in May and at least 300 more in June. As of June 2024, Microsoft had around 228,000 employees worldwide. In 2023, the company also laid off 10,000 staff.
The latest cuts were announced on the second day of Microsoft’s 2026 fiscal year, a period that typically brings internal reorganisations. The company is reportedly reducing managerial layers to improve direct communication and operational efficiency.
Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s CEO of Gaming, addressed the impact on the gaming division in a memo to employees: “To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness.”
The largest workforce reduction in Microsoft’s history occurred in 2014 when it cut 18,000 jobs following its acquisition of Nokia’s devices and services business.
Despite the job cuts, Microsoft remains financially strong. For the March quarter, it reported nearly $26 billion in net income on $70 billion in revenue—figures that surpassed Wall Street expectations and kept the company among the most profitable in the S&P 500 index.
