- Microsoft reportedly set for another round of job cuts
- Next move could see 6,000 cut from the company's Gaming division
- The cuts make up less than 4% of Microsoft's global headcount
Microsoft is cutting 9,000 jobs with most of those facing the ax being employed in the Gaming division.
“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft spokesperson said (via CNBC).
The job cuts seek to reduce the layers of managers standing between individual contributors and top executives, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.
Microsoft reveals another round of cuts
Cutting jobs seems to be the growing trend for many large companies, with Microsoft cutting just under 1% of its workforce in January 2025.
Another 6,000 workers, mostly programmers, were cut in May and a further 300 jobs cut in June.
Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s CEO of gaming, wrote in a Wednesday memo, “To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness.”
Amazon has also gone through several waves of layoffs this year, with CEO Andy Jassy repeatedly saying that AI could replace some of its workers.
For Microsoft though, the layoffs are more to do with improving business performance and reducing internal friction.
Intel has also lined up a significant wave of layoffs, with the company looking to cut 15-20% of its factory workforce.
Intel already laid off 15,000 people in August 2024. But while Intel has been struggling with declining revenues and market performance, Microsoft reported nearly $26 billion in net income on $70 billion in revenue for the March quarter.
