NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 29: A Microsoft corporate logo hangs on the side of their office building on Eighth Avenue on April 29, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
Redmond, Washington – Despite recently reporting strong financial results, Microsoft has announced another sweeping round of layoffs, cutting approximately 3% of its global workforce—over 6,000 jobs. The layoffs will affect employees at all levels across the company’s teams and geographic locations, including subsidiaries like LinkedIn and international offices.
“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace,” said Microsoft spokesperson Pete Wootton.
The company, which employed around 228,000 people as of June, said the cuts are not related to individual performance but are part of a broader strategy to streamline management and improve agility. The layoffs are Microsoft’s most significant job cuts since 2023, when the company eliminated 10,000 roles.
In recent months, Microsoft has gradually reduced its workforce through smaller, targeted layoffs. In May 2024, the company closed multiple game studios, including Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin. Additional job cuts followed in September, with 650 roles eliminated in Xbox-related divisions. Microsoft laid off roughly 1,000 HoloLens and Azure cloud team employees in June.
This week’s job cuts mark a broader organizational shift after Microsoft CFO Amy Hood signaled in April that the company was looking to reduce unnecessary management layers. “We continue to focus on building high-performing teams and increasing our agility by reducing layers with fewer managers,” Hood said during Microsoft’s earnings call on April 30.
The company’s most recent quarterly report showed $25.8 billion in net income, exceeding Wall Street expectations. Still, CEO Satya Nadella noted the need for structural adjustments, particularly in sales execution, after cloud growth in Azure fell short of internal expectations—excluding AI-related business, which performed above forecasts.
The layoffs also align with a larger trend in the tech industry. Last week, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike announced it would cut 5% of its staff, and earlier this year, Amazon also made management-level layoffs citing “unnecessary layers.”
Despite the cuts, Microsoft stock continues to perform well. Shares ended trading Monday at $449.26, their highest price in 2025. The company is still near its all-time high of $467.56, set in July 2024.
While Microsoft maintains that these moves are strategic and forward-looking, the scope and frequency of the layoffs suggest a tech giant in continuous recalibration, even amid financial strength.
