Author: Perez Clark
Microsoft is the newest tech giant to hold a layoff, as economic headwinds and the ongoing inflation impact even the most-established industry top dogs.
The Microsoft Window manufacturer is now following the same route, as Meta, Intel, and Google, by reducing their workers.
Microsoft Lays Off Under 1,000 Employees Across Multiple Divisions
Layoffs Across Multiple Divisions
In a public statement on Tuesday, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that the company would, unfortunately, be laying off nearly 1,000 workers as tech companies prepare for an upcoming economic downturn in the global demand for PCs and tablets.
The tech corporation relieved jobs across several sections and divisions yesterday (Oct.25) in a move that it describes as “structural adjustments.”
While Microsoft didn’t specify the number of jobs it let go, insider reports mention the company fired nearly 1,000 employees out of the 221,000 working in the organization. “We assess our business regularly and perform structural adjustments appropriately, just like a serious organization does,” Microsoft’s spokesperson said.
“We will continue developing and improving our business and hiring in essential growth areas for the company in the coming years,” he added.
Posts on social media sites like Blind and Twitter indicate that Microsoft’s layoff affected these departments: Experiences & Devices, Microsoft Strategic Missions & Technology, and Legal Divisions. Although we have yet to confirm, multiple reports state that layoffs also affected some of the Xbox gaming units.
Above all, the multinational corporation says it would eliminate only a tiny number of roles within its workforce with the ongoing sack. The company also confirmed last month that it would recruit 1,000 workers for its Chinese operation and recondition its bases in the country in the coming years.
A Looming Recession
The fear of a U.S recession, which Bloomberg forecasts to be 100% likely in the coming months, has forced the tech sector to cool down on hiring and enforce staff layoffs in recent times. Earlier in July, Microsoft sacked 1,800 employees – nearly 1% of its workforce – and closed several job listings.
Similarly, Google took to tightening its employee belt. The company cites the current “uncertain global outlook” for its decision to halt hiring and redirect resources to “areas of increased priority” earlier in the year.
Meta also began addressing low-performing workers as the company recorded its first-ever revenue drop in July, the same period GameStop started to layoffs.
In August, Snap announced it would begin laying 20% of its 6000-man workforce and discontinuing a range of products to fare against financial challenges. Robinhood, a popular trading app, also conducted two layoffs in 2022.
Final Word
Tech companies globally are preparing for a recession in the coming months. Recently, several Silicon Valley-based firms have come to face the effects of inflation on consumer spending and operation costs.
Of the worst-hit, Crypto-based businesses have fared even worse than tech in the past months.
The failing economy combined with the recent crypto winter caused several industry names to declare bankruptcy. In the midst of that, Openseas, and Coinbase wants to conduct significant employee number slashes earlier this year.
Tech companies like Oracle, Twitter, Nvidia, Uber, Spotify, and Salesforce, among others, have slowed hiring,g or laid off employees in the current economic down.