Microsoft has announced plans to lay off over 6,000 employees—approximately three percent of its global workforce.
The tech giant’s home state of Washington will be hardest hit, after the company informed officials it was cutting 1,985 workers tied to its Redmond headquarters.
The move marks the firm's largest round of job cuts since 2023 when it laid off 10,000 workers, and will impact employees across multiple divisions.
A Microsoft spokesperson did not delve into specifics around the layoffs, saying they regularly adjust their workforce to meet the strategic demands of the business.
We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace.”
Last month Microsoft’s Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said that the firm was focused on “building high-performing teams and increasing agility by reducing layers with fewer managers”.
Hood added that the headcount in March was two percent higher than a year earlier, and down slightly compared with the end of last year.
Microsoft employed 228,000 full-time workers as of last June, the last time it reported its annual employee figures, with about 55 percent of those workers based in the US.
The mass layoffs come just weeks after the company posted strong sales and profits for the January-March quarter, surpassing Wall Street expectations.
