Tech giant Microsoft has announced that it will be laying off almost 9,000 employees worldwide, the most since 2023 and the second major layoff round of the year.
Even though the IT giant reports great financial success, it says these cuts, which represent less than 4% of its 228,000-person staff, are part of an ongoing reorganization drive to streamline operations and decrease managerial layers.
Employees from many departments, regions, and experience levels are affected by the sweeping layoffs. However, it looks like Microsoft’s Xbox game division is being particularly hard hit, since multiple studios have reported significant job cuts.
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Less than 1% of employees were let go in January due to performance-related reasons, according to reports, whereas over 6,000 positions were lost in May and another 300 in June.
Given this most recent wave, it is projected that 8,777 jobs, or just less than 4% of the worldwide workforce, will be lost overall in July.
“We continue to implement organizational and workforce changes that are necessary to position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement, without providing further details.
