Microsoft plans to layoff thousands of staff across multiple divisions

Microsoft, one of the leading American technology companies, has reportedly announced to layoff thousands of employees in divisions including engineering and human resources, as per media reports.

The anticipated layoffs would be the most recent in the U.S. technology industry, where businesses including the e-commerce giant Amazon.com, and the renowned social media platform Facebook parent firm, Meta Platforms have disclosed downsizing plans in response to sluggish demand and a gloomy outlook for the world economy.

Apparently, Microsoft's decision may be a sign that job losses in the tech industry will continue.

As per Morningstar analyst Dan Romanoff, from a large perspective, another looming round of job cuts at Microsoft implies that the situation is not stabilizing and probably continues to get worse.

According to sources, Microsoft intends to slash 11,000 jobs or around 5% of the workforce.

It is revealed that the number of cuts will be considerably higher than in previous rounds.

Sources familiar with the matter state that Microsoft plans to make job cuts in several engineering departments on Wednesday, while others revealed that the tech giant may reduce its recruiting personnel by up to one-third.

However, Microsoft declined to shed light on the subject so far.

As of June 30, the corporation had 221,000 full-time employees, comprising 122,000 in the U.S. and 99,000 overseas.

Microsoft is under pressure to sustain growth rates at its cloud division Azure after consecutive quarters of decline in the personal computer market-affected sales of Windows and devices.

The technology company announced in July of last year that a limited number of positions had been cut. Axios, a news outlet, revealed in October that Microsoft has fired under 1,000 workers from several divisions.

Microsoft shares, which are due to publish quarterly results on January 24, closed at 0.47% higher at US$240.35 on Tuesday.

Source credit: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/microsoft-to-cut-thousands-of-jobs-across-divisions-reports