Microsoft has officially announced the second wave of layoffs this year, which has impacted more than 300 employees of the company after it fired over 6,000 last month. The company did not reveal any information about the roles that will suffer the impact of these layoffs. However, the second round of layoffs also seems to be a part of the restructuring efforts. If you are someone who wants to know more about Microsoft laying off over 300 employees after the second-largest wave of layoffs conducted last month, the following article is for you.
Microsoft’s Second-Largest Layoff Drive Continues
Microsoft, the tech giant that recruited over 228,000 full-time workers, laid off around 6,000 employees last month, which is approximately 3% of its entire current workforce. These layoffs are being considered the company’s second-largest layoff drive in the past decade. Most of the employees impacted belonged to the coding professionals as well as the project management roles. The last time Microsoft conducted similar layoffs was in 2023 when it fired over 10,000 employees. The company has now announced another round of layoffs and has fired more than 300 employees in Redmond. One of the spokespersons confirmed these layoffs are separate from the 6,000 employees laid off last month. However, the latest cuts, unlike the previous round, represent less than 1% of Microsoft’s total workforce.
Why Is Microsoft Conducting Large-Scale Layoff Drives?
According to a statement from one of the spokespersons from Microsoft, the company is conducting large-scale layoffs in order to implement organizational changes required for the company to be successful in a dynamic marketplace. The company has decided to continue using technology to help employees focus on more important tasks. According to the reports, the layoffs are also a part of the restructuring efforts of Microsoft. The company is trying to remove layers of management as well as overlapping roles. The company is currently focused on increasing operational efficiency. Such changes have always been a common approach of the company toward restructuring to achieve business goals.
What Did The Microsoft CEO Say About The Recent Layoffs?
Satya Nandella, who is currently serving as the CEO of Microsoft, assured that the layoffs do not have any connection with the performance of the employees. He further added that the layoffs are due to organizational restructuring. Nadella addressed the staff of Microsoft during a town hall meeting and accepted the emotional toll of the decision. However, he also mentioned that the layoffs were necessary for the realignment of the teams in accordance with the evolving priorities of the company. He further assured the employees that the layoffs were a result of a strategic shift and not a lack of productivity or talent.
What Did Frank X Shaw Said During The Microsoft Build Event This Year Regarding AI Agents?
Frank X Shaw, who is currently serving as the Chief Communications Officer of Microsoft, recently talked about how the company has entered its AI agents era during the Microsoft Build event this year. He explained how AI models are now more efficient and help us solve problems in new ways. He cited the example of how over 15 million developers have already used GitHub Copilot to streamline their code with various features like agent mode and code review. The company also revealed how 30% of the code in some company projects is AI-generated. According to the reports, the company has also allocated over $80 billion for data center spending.
Microsoft Layoffs Increase Job Insecurity Among Corporate Workers
After the latest Microsoft layoffs conducted in the span of the last two months, people working as corporate employees have now started fearing for their own jobs. Blind, which is an anonymous workplace platform, conducted a survey after the May 13 Microsoft layoffs. The results of the survey suggest more than half of US corporate professionals are afraid for their jobs. According to the survey, 86% of Doordash employees feel insecure about their job. Similarly, employees of other companies like Dropbox, ByteDance, AMD, NVIDIA, VMware, and more also feel the same in the AI era.
