Microsoft Announces Layoffs Affecting 3% of Global Workforce

Microsoft is cutting 3% of its employees worldwide, impacting staff across all levels, teams, and locations.

With approximately 228,000 employees listed on Microsoft's LinkedIn page, this means over 6,000 workers will lose their jobs.

"We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace," a Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC.

The layoffs are not performance-related, according to reports. Instead, one main goal is to reduce management layers within the company. This follows a similar move by Amazon earlier this year when they eliminated positions after identifying "unnecessary layers" in their organization.

This round of cuts comes just months after Microsoft's smaller layoffs in January 2025. The tech giant has previously trimmed its workforce in other areas, particularly in gaming. In 2024, Microsoft cut 1,900 workers from its gaming operations, followed by another 650 employee layoffs in September of the same year.

Despite these workforce reductions, Microsoft's financial performance remains strong. For the quarter ending March 31, 2025, the company reported net income of $25.8 billion, showing an 18% increase year-over-year, with its gaming segment growing by 5%.

As of now, it remains unclear how these latest cuts will specifically affect Microsoft's gaming division, which has already experienced significant staff reductions after the Activision Blizzard deal.