Microsoft axes 6,000 jobs despite strong profits in recent quarters

13 May 2025, 20:02 | Updated: 13 May 2025, 20:20

In its last reported annual headcount in June 2024, Microsoft employed 228,000 full-time workers. Picture: Getty

By Frankie Elliott

Microsoft has started letting go of about 6,000 of its staff in its biggest company cut since early 2023.

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The tech giant did not officially say how many jobs would be lost, but confirmed three per cent of its entire workforce would be laid off, which equates to the figure above.

In its last reported annual headcount in June 2024, Microsoft employed 228,000 full-time workers - 55 per cent of whom were in the United States.

The company, based in Redmond, Washington state, said the layoffs will be across all levels and geographies but will focus on reducing the number of managers.

Notices began going out to employees on Tuesday and are expected to hit across all parts of the business, including the career networking site LinkedIn and the video game platform Xbox.

Bosses also announced a smaller round of performance-based layoffs in January.

The lates cuts come just weeks after Microsoft reported strong sales and profits that beat Wall Street expectations for the January-March quarter.

Microsoft’s chief financial officer Amy Hood said on an April earnings call that the company was focused on “building high-performing teams and increasing our agility by reducing layers with fewer managers”.

She also said the headcount in March was 2% higher than a year earlier, and down slightly compared with the end of last year.