Microsoft Layoffs To Hit 9,000 Employees, Including Salespeople: Report

While the AI and cloud computing giant’s second major wave of layoffs this year will reportedly impact an undisclosed number of managers and salespeople, the reduction in force is expected to hit staff in various teams and regions with different levels of experience.

Microsoft is making its second major wave of layoffs this year with the Wednesday announcement that it is cutting roughly 9,000 jobs, which reportedly includes an undisclosed number of managers and salespeople.

Multiple reports said the layoffs amount to less than 4 percent of the tech giant’s workforce, impacting employees in various teams and regions with different levels of experience.

“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft spokesperson was quoted as saying by multiple news outlets.

Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Bloomberg previously reported that Microsoft was planning to cut thousands of jobs at the beginning of July with a focus on its sales organization.

CNBC reported that the latest layoff round will include a focus on reducing the number of managers between top executives and individual contributors, citing an unnamed source.

The Redmond, Wash.-based company made the move after laying off more than 6,000 jobs in May that reportedly focused on product and engineering positions and cutting less than 1 percent of its workforce in January based on performance.

In Microsoft’s third-quarter earnings late April, the company reported growth across a variety of AI products as well as “good, consistent work on [cloud] migrations.”

While Microsoft CFO Amy Hood noted “good execution by the sales and partner teams,” she added that the company still has “some work to do” with how it sells through partners.

This story was originally published on our sister site, CRN.