Microsoft has become the latest tech giant to announce massive job cuts amid an uncertain global economy.
Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, today sent a memo to his employees informing them that the company will lay off 10 000 employees.
Earlier this month Amazon also announced that it will retrench 18 000 employees.
Meta, Twitter, and Salesforce are some of the global giants that announced massive job cuts in 2022.
“We’re living through times of significant change, and as I meet with customers and partners, a few things are clear,” says Nadella in the memo.
“First, as we saw customers accelerate their digital spend during the pandemic, we’re now seeing them optimise their digital spend to do more with less. We’re also seeing organisations in every industry and geography exercise caution as some parts of the world are in a recession and other parts are anticipating one. At the same time, the next major wave of computing is being born with advances in AI [artificial intelligence], as we’re turning the world’s most advanced models into a new computing platform.”
He adds: “This is the context in which we as a company must strive to deliver results on an ongoing basis, while investing in our long-term opportunity. I’m confident that Microsoft will emerge from this stronger and more competitive, but it requires us to take actions grounded in three priorities.
“First, we will align our cost structure with our revenue and where we see customer demand. Today, we are making changes that will result in the reduction of our overall workforce by 10 000 jobs through the end of FY23 Q3.”
According to Nadella, this represents less than 5% of the company’s total employee base.
“It’s important to note that while we are eliminating roles in some areas, we will continue to hire in key strategic areas. We know this is a challenging time for each person impacted. The senior leadership team and I are committed that as we go through this process, we will do so in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible.”
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