A week before Microsoft is scheduled to release its earnings for the final three months of last year, a new layoff announcement would be made. According to reports in the media on Tuesday, Microsoft is preparing to eliminate more positions from its global workforce as tech giants continue to reduce headcount to weather challenging economic times.
According to Bloomberg News, the venerable company in the computer industry may announce layoffs in its engineering divisions as soon as Wednesday.
Microsoft declined to comment on the “rumour,” a spokesperson for the company told AFP. The Washington-based company, which according to industry watchers employs over 220,000 people, reduced its workforce twice last year.
A week before Microsoft is scheduled to release its earnings for the final three months of last year, a new layoff announcement would be made.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note to investors, “Over the last few weeks we have seen significant headcount cut reduction from stalwarts Salesforce and Amazon.” Ives informed investors that Wedbush anticipates additional staff reductions in the tech sector of between 5 and 10 percent.
In light of softer (macro-economic conditions), many of these companies need to rein in their spending after behaving like 1980s rock stars, according to Ives. Early in January, the online retail behemoth Amazon announced its intention to eliminate more than 18,000 positions from its workforce, citing “the uncertain economy” and the fact that it had “hired rapidly” during the pandemic.
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The job-cutting initiative is the most significant among recent layoffs that have hit the formerly unstoppable US tech sector, including at titans like Facebook-owner Meta.
CEO Andy Jassy informed staff that some of the Amazon layoffs would occur in Europe and that the impacted employees would be notified beginning on January 18. In response to inflation, major platforms with an advertising-based business model are facing budget cuts from advertisers.
The loss of 11,000 jobs, or roughly 13 percent of its workforce, was announced by Meta in November. At the end of August, Snapchat let go 1,200 workers, or about 20% of its workforce.
Salesforce, an IT company, also announced in early January that it would be laying off roughly 10% of its workforce, or just under 8,000 people. Elon Musk, a billionaire, purchased Twitter in October, and promptly let go roughly half of its 7,500 staff members.
