Image: © Tobias Arhelger/Stock.adobe.com
Microsoft reportedly plans to cut fewer than 1,000 jobs across a range of levels and fields – coming just months after a revenue slowdown.
Microsoft is the latest tech company to make job cuts amid ongoing economic uncertainty.
Confirmed by a spokesperson to media outlets, the job cuts come less than three months after Microsoft reported its slowest quarterly revenue growth since 2020.
The company blamed “unfavourable foreign exchange rate movement” as well as extended production shutdowns in China as well as a slowdown in PC and gaming sales.
Around this time, Microsoft also announced that it had trimmed less than 1pc of its employees. Now, the company has confirmed that it has cut additional jobs.
“Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis, and make structural adjustments accordingly,” Microsoft told Axios of the latest cuts.
Microsoft declined to say how many roles had been cut, but a source told Axios that the layoffs impacted less than 1,000 people across a range of roles and levels globally.
“We will continue to invest in our business and hire in key growth areas in the year ahead,” the spokesperson added.
Microsoft’s next earnings report is expected on 25 October and the company is aiming for 10pc revenue growth.
Meanwhile, there are reports that Intel is planning to cut thousands of jobs across its global operations amid an ongoing PC sales drop – with uncertainty around whether this will impact workers in Ireland.
Bloomberg reported that the decision is being made to cut costs and handle issues in the PC market, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Intel, which declined to make any comment at this time, currently employs around 5,000 staff across its Irish operations.
Other tech companies that have announced job cuts recently include Snap, Coinbase, Netflix, Twilio, Patreon, Intercom and Shopify, among others.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees in a Q&A last month that the company is cutting its budget across most teams – even ones that are growing – amid revenue challenges and increasing competition. This is the company’s first major budget cut after 18 years of growth.
“I had hoped the economy would have more clearly stabilised by now,” Zuckerberg reportedly said, hinting that job cuts might be on the table. “But from what we’re seeing it doesn’t yet seem like it has, so we want to plan somewhat conservatively.”
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