Microsoft is laying off 6,000 employees globally, which is the largest workforce reduction since early 2023, as the tech giant restructures to sharpen its competitive edge and adapt to shifting market demands.
The move, which will impact nearly 3% of Microsoft’s 228,000-person workforce, is aimed at trimming management layers and increasing organisational agility, the company said.
Employees were notified of the layoffs on Tuesday, May 13. While specific roles or departments were not disclosed, the cuts are expected to affect staff at all levels and across various locations.
“We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace,” Microsoft said in a statement.
This round of layoffs follows smaller performance-based cuts earlier in the year.
The last major reduction occurred in early 2023, when Microsoft laid off 10,000 workers—about 5% of its workforce at the time.
Despite the job losses, Microsoft remains financially robust. The company has consistently posted strong earnings, driven in part by its investments in artificial intelligence and cloud services.
During an April earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood emphasised the company’s focus on efficiency: “We are focused on building high-performing teams and increasing our agility by reducing layers with fewer managers.”
Hood also noted that as of March 2025, Microsoft’s overall headcount remained slightly higher than the previous year, despite a small dip from the end of 2024.
The layoffs come amid broader turbulence in the tech industry, where even financially healthy firms reevaluate how they structure their teams in the age of AI and automation.
For Microsoft, the cuts reflect both a tightening of internal operations and a strategic pivot to meet future demands.
