The computer giant Microsoft is reportedly planning to make significant job layoffs soon, according to various reports. According to media sources, Microsoft is prepared to fire 11,000 people, or 5% of its more than 221,000-person workforce.
In reaction to a worldwide economic slowdown, Microsoft will be joining other internet behemoths like Meta, Twitter, Salesforce, and Amazon, among others, in dramatically laying off personnel since last year.
While Microsoft has not officially confirmed or denied the rumors, Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the situation, said that the software corporation wants to slash employees in several technical units.
Next week, Microsoft is scheduled to present its quarterly profits, but according to Sky News sources, information on the upcoming layoffs may be revealed sooner.
In October 2022, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella issued a warning on the need to control cost structures and adapt to escalating challenges. As regulatory scrutiny of the proposed takeover of games producer Activision Blizzard grows, it is also battling to keep the deal alive.
The extent of the wave of layoffs that began last year has been escalating since the beginning of this year, despite industry analysts’ earlier predictions that it might not finish until mid-2023.
Salesforce said earlier this year that it will lay off 10% of its staff, affecting more than 7,000 employees. A few days later, Amazon announced its intention to fire 18,000 employees due to economic uncertainty.
The greatest employee layoffs in business history, 11,000, were announced by Facebook parent firm Meta last year. Before that, as Elon Musk assumed control of the social media firm, Twitter had fired over half of its staff.
Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, have placed the responsibility on themselves for overstaffing during the early stages of the epidemic and failing to anticipate how the spike in demand for their goods would subside after Covid-19 limitations were lifted.
