Microsoft has confirmed that it is making a large round of layoffs, with 10,000 employees set to lose their jobs.
Rumors of the job cuts circulated over night, but now the big tech giant has confirmed the move in a memo sent to staff.
The cuts come as the company looks to “align our cost structure with our revenue and where we see customer demand,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in the memo sent to Microsoft employees.
“We know this is a challenging time for each person impacted. The senior leadership team and I are committed that as we go through this process, we will do so in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible,” he added.
The figure represents just under five percent of Microsoft’s total headcount of over 222,000 staff. Some employees will be told that they’ll be losing their jobs today, with the remaining redundancies being made by March.
The memo points towards “times of significant change,” parts of the world being in recession, and the rise of new technologies as some of the reasons for the redundancies.
“These decisions are difficult, but necessary. They are especially difficult because they impact people and people’s lives — our colleagues and friends,” said Nadella.
The memo also reveals that Microsoft is taking a $1.2 billion charge in Q2 related to severance costs, changes to its hardware portfolio, and the cost of lease consolidation as it attempts to create “higher density” across workspaces.
Microsoft says it will offer “full support” to employees who are being laid off, providing severance pay, six months of healthcare coverage, help with career transition and 60 days of notice period, whether or not it’s legally required.
January 18, 2023
Written by Liam Tung