Microsoft is Cutting Jobs Across Departments to Focus on High-Performance Talent
Microsoft has confirmed that it is cutting a small percentage of jobs across various departments, citing performance issues. The company, led by CEO Satya Nadella, emphasized its focus on high-performance talent in a statement to CNBC on Wednesday.
According to a Microsoft spokesperson, the job cuts will affect less than 1% of its global workforce, which currently stands at 228,000 employees. This news comes as the company’s stock underperformed its peers last year, rising 12% while the Nasdaq gained 29%.
The company has been going through a period of restructuring in recent years. In early 2023, it laid off 10,000 employees and consolidated leases, and in January 2024, its gaming unit shed 1,900 jobs to reduce overlap following the $75.4 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft’s relationship with artificial intelligence startup OpenAI has also been a point of concern. The company has invested over $13 billion in OpenAI, but Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently described the relationship as experiencing “cooperation tension” in a recent podcast.
Meanwhile, the company’s Microsoft 365 Copilot assistant, which leverages OpenAI technology, has yet to gain widespread adoption in the business world. Analysts have expressed concerns about the slow rollout of the product.
Despite these challenges, Microsoft is still touting its growth opportunities, including increased revenue growth from its Azure cloud due to greater AI infrastructure capacity. According to CFO Amy Hood, this growth is expected to accelerate in the first half of this year.
