The cut is related to sales strategies.
Microsoft is cutting roughly 6,000 jobs, or about three percent of its global workforce, in a broad restructuring move affecting all organisational levels and locations.
According to CNBC, a company spokesperson stated that the layoffs aim to streamline operations in a fast-changing market, with a focus on reducing management layers.
Of the total layoffs, nearly 2,000 are linked to the company's Redmond, Washington headquarters. This marks Microsoft's largest job reduction since 2023, when 10,000 roles were eliminated.
Unlike earlier cuts this year that were performance-related, the current downsizing is structural: CEO Satya Nadella previously signalled changes to sales strategies, particularly following slower-than-expected growth in non-AI Azure services.
Despite the cuts, Microsoft remains financially strong, having posted $25.8 billion in net income last quarter and maintaining a positive forecast.
Written by
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with 25 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 17 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Forum, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and the National Cyber Security Show, and served as editor of SC Media UK, Infosecurity Magazine and IT Security Guru. He was also an analyst with 451 Research and a product marketing lead at Tenable.
