Microsoft slashes jobs to realign business groups, roles

Tech major Microsoft Corp. is reportedly slashing some jobs, spanning a variety of groups including consulting and customer and partner solutions and across geographies.

The Redmond-tech firm however told Bloomberg, the company is “realigning business groups and roles after the close of its fiscal year on June 30”. It also said that it plans to keep hiring for other roles and finish the current fiscal year with increased headcount.

"Today we had a small number of eliminations. Like all companies we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis and make structural adjustments accordingly" Microsoft said in an emailed statement, adding that the company “will continue grow headcount overall in the year ahead.”

The current round of layoffs is affecting less than 1% of the 180,000-person workforce, but a May report by Bloomberg suggests that “Microsoft will get more cautious about hiring in its Windows and Office divisions, including its Microsoft Teams group”, in the latest sign of companies reassessing their growth plans in response to economic uncertainty. 

The year has been extremely volatile for US technology companies, in terms of job market where established businesses and start-up alike have seen layoffs and hiring freezes. In the San Fransisco (Bay Area) itself, in recent months, crypto exchanges, Coinbase, Gemini and BlockFi, among others as well as a slew of tech start-ups have seen massive layoffs.

Besides, big tech companies including Meta, Salesforce, Netflix, Twitter, Intel, Lyft, and Uber, have also recently announced hiring freezes or layoffs in the midst of cost-cutting pressure and rising inflation, coupled with a looming bear market and rising interest rates.

While businesses are slowly clawing back to pre-pandemic times, economist Ted Egan told The Times that “recent national economic trends threaten its progress”. However, Egan also said that “layoffs and hiring freezes may not necessarily mean dire times to come ”. He added, “The labour market is still quite tight,” Egan said. “In San Francisco, even in the tech industry, where a lot of the layoffs are concentrated, there are three open job listings for every hire, so a lot of jobs are still going unfilled.”