What you need to know
- Microsoft is rumored to be axing up to 11,000 jobs as soon as tomorrow.
- The layoffs come just months after the company already axed 1% of its workforce.
- Today’s reports claim this round of layoffs could affect around 5% of the workforce, possibly more.
A new report from Sky News (opens in new tab) has today reported that Microsoft is planning to cut up to 11,000 jobs, or roughly 5% of its workforce in a matter of days, with Bloomberg and The Verge stating the layoffs will be announced as soon as tomorrow (January 18) ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings.
These jobs cut come just days after the company launched a new unlimited vacation time policy, with many employees who have unused vacation time set to receive a one-time pay-out in April as a result.
It’s currently unknown how many parts of the company this round of layoffs is set to affect, though Bloomberg reports the layoffs will be announced in Microsoft’s engineering divisions. It’s not clear if the layoffs will be announced in other areas of the company.
Microsoft already announced a 1% layoff last year, which primarily affected a team dedicated to Microsoft’s “Modern Life Experiences” division. That round of layoffs was much smaller, but only took place a handful of months ago. An additional 5% round of layoffs is a much larger number for the company.
Recently, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in an interview with CNBC that “the next two years are probably going to be the most challenging,” referring to the current economic climate and emerging recessions in some parts of the world.
Microsoft isn’t the only company navigating this ongoing poor economic climate, with companies such as Meta cutting up to 11,000 jobs in November 2022, Amazon cutting up to 18,000 roles, and Apple and Google implementing a temporary hiring freeze.
