January 18, 2023
A Microsoft logo is seen in Los Angeles, California U.S. November 7, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
Jan 17 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) plans
to cut thousands of jobs with some roles expected to be eliminated in human
resources and engineering divisions, according to media reports on Tuesday.
The expected layoffs would be the latest in the U.S. technology
sector, where companies including Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and
Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) have
announced retrenchment exercises in response to slowing demand and a worsening
global economic outlook.
Microsoft's move could indicate that the tech sector may
continue to shed jobs.
"From a big picture perspective, another pending round of
layoffs at Microsoft suggests the environment is not improving, and likely
continues to worsen," Morningstar analyst Dan Romanoff said.
U.K broadcaster Sky News reported, citing sources, that Microsoft plans to cut
about 5% of its workforce, or about 11,000 roles.
The company plans to cut jobs in a number of engineering
divisions on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported, according to a person familiar
with the matter, while Insider reported that Microsoft could cut recruiting
staff by as much as one-third.
The cuts will be significantly larger than other rounds in the
past year, the Bloomberg report said.
Microsoft declined to comment on the reports.
The company had 221,000 full-time employees, including 122,000
in the United States and 99,000 internationally, as of June 30, according to
filings.
Microsoft is under
pressure to maintain growth rates at its cloud unit Azure, after
several quarters of downturn in the personal computer market hurt Windows and
devices sales.
It had said in July last year that a small number of roles had
been eliminated. In October, news site Axios reported that
Microsoft had laid off under 1,000 employees across several divisions.
Shares of Microsoft, which is set to report quarterly results on
Jan. 24, were marginally higher in late afternoon trading.
Reporting
by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Sriraj Kalluvila
https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-cut-thousands-jobs-sky-news-2023-01-17/
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