Microsoft’s second largest layoffs in history strikes more than 6,000 workers; these are the jobs most likely to be affected

Microsoft has launched the company’s second most significant round of layoffs in history, impacting more than 6,000 people across various departments. The layoff moves to cut costs and realign strategically, part of a larger industry move by multiple large tech companies to adjust to post-pandemic market realities and strategic priorities.

The layoffs are said to be offset towards sales, support, and engineering functions. With an emphasis on redundant tasks or challenged areas. While the company has not named the full list of impacted functions, sources said customer support, product marketing, and the cloud operational teams tied to operations were most impacted. These are traditionally functions that experienced duplication of effort through process automation and mergers, creating more exposure in a restructuring phase. 

Also worth noting, a significant percentage of the job losses come from Microsoft’s gaming and hardware organizations. It appears that some of the hardware engineering and game publishing roles are being reassessed due to a change in Xbox long-term priorities and an ongoing consolidaton in processes of devicemaking. Business operations- and recruitment-related functions have also experienced cuts, which aligned with a brief slowdown in recruiting and internal expansion.

Microsoft states that this is part of a broader reorganization to become more efficient and jumpstart innovation in areas such as AI, cloud, and enterprise software. The company is investing heavily into generative AI and surrounding technology, which alters workforce needs toward new skills and technical capabilities. Therefore, there are anticipated jobs that are aligned with these innovative mission statements will be on the rise. Conversely, jobs are dwindling away.

While layoffs at Microsoft are painful, the company has deep pockets and is one of the most valuable companies in the world. The layoffs are indicative of the company’s commitment to sustainability and its efforts to keep pace with a more competitive tech ecosystem. For employees laid-off, most employees received severance packages and support programs to ease their transition. In an ever-evolving landscape of technology, both workers and companies must adapt quickly in response to the changing demands of innovation and efficiency.