Microsoft is laying off even more of its staff, with potentially almost 7000 workers at risk

More than two years on from Microsoft’s last mass round of layoffs, the company is laying off a huge amount of staff once again. As reported by CNBC, the tech giant is laying off 3% of employees across the entire company, meaning all levels, teams, and geographies. While nothing has been directly confirmed as of yet, this does include the possibility that some games studios it owns will be affected too – we’ll provide an update if there is one.

In a statement provided to CNBC, a Microsoft spokesperson said that the company will “continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace.” The spokesperson also said that one objective of the layoffs is to reduce layers of management. As always, a ridiculously heartless way to frame such a thing.

As of last June, Microsoft had around 228,000 employees, meaning a little under 7000 workers could be out of work soon. This is by far the biggest round of layoffs the company has enacted since January 2023, though 650 workers were put out of employment last September too.

It’s absolutely worth noting that these layoffs come after Microsoft reported that their net income increased by 18% year-on-year just this April. Doesn’t exactly scream a company that desperately needs to make cuts.

Again, it’s unclear if any games studios under Microsoft’s ownership have been affected by this decision. But as a reminder, based on the stats of an unofficial games industry layoffs tracker, so far this year there’s been an estimated 2200 jobs lost. 2024 saw around 14,600, 2023 around 10,500, and 2022 around 8500. Good luck to those affected.