Microsoft has announced plans to lay off approximately 9,000 employees worldwide, marking its second significant round of job cuts this year as the company sharpens its focus on efficiency and cost management.
The layoffs represent about 4% of Microsoft’s global workforce, which totaled 228,000 as of June 2024. The cuts will impact various teams, regions, and levels of seniority, according to a company spokesperson cited by Bloomberg.
Restructuring to Streamline Operations
The job cuts are part of broader organizational restructuring aimed at simplifying processes and reducing layers of management.
“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” the spokesperson said.
The latest round follows Microsoft’s previous layoff of 6,000 employees in May, which mainly affected product and engineering teams. This time, the sales division—including roles within the Xbox gaming arm—is among the hardest hit.
Microsoft typically carries out internal reshuffling at the close of its fiscal year in June. The company’s sales and marketing teams alone employ about 45,000 people.
In a related development, Microsoft’s Chief Commercial Officer, Judson Althoff, who heads global sales, will begin a previously planned two-month sabbatical in July and is expected to return in September.
Tech Sector Layoffs Continue in 2025
Microsoft’s move reflects a broader trend of ongoing workforce reductions across the tech sector. Since the layoff wave began in 2023, major companies have continued to shrink headcount to control costs amid economic uncertainty and rising investments in artificial intelligence.
In April 2025, Google parent company Alphabet cut hundreds of jobs in its Platforms and Devices division, affecting teams behind Android, Pixel, and Chrome. The company said the layoffs aimed to boost agility following a merger of key divisions.
According to Layoffs.fyi, a tracker of tech industry job cuts, over 27,000 tech workers were laid off between January and April 2025, with February alone accounting for more than 16,000 job losses—the highest in the first quarter.
Industry analysts expect the downsizing trend to continue as tech giants recalibrate for AI-driven growth while navigating a challenging global economic environment.
