The biggest tech giant has given up before the global economic meltdown. Microsoft to lay off employees as a “realignment” move.
Microsoft to lay off employees of about 1,80,000 across its offices and product divisions. This cut off is said to be only a single percentage of its total workforce.
Microsoft reported about its elimination process to Bloomberg in a statement late on Tuesday. It said that like every other company, they evaluate their business priorities on a regular basis, and make structural adjustments accordingly. Hence also eliminating off employees for now, they further promise that there will be a gradual increase in headcount over the years ahead. Microsoft has also slowed hiring in the Windows, Teams and Office groups.
Microsoft reported strong earnings in its third quarter, with a 26 percent jump this year in cloud revenue and an overall revenue of $49.4 billion. However, last month, the company revised its Q4 revenue and the earnings guidance is downward.
With tech results season beckoning, stock market analysts will be looking for evidence of a slowdown in enterprise tech spending. In recent months, Cisco and others have dialed back on recruitment, signaling some uncertainty on the road ahead.
Twitter has also eliminated 30 percent of its recruiting team while Elon Musk’s Tesla has been cutting off hundreds of employees. Other tech companies that have slowed hiring include Nvidia, Snap, Uber, Spotify, Intel and Salesforce and many others.
Cloud major Oracle recently considered laying off thousands of workers to save up to $1 billion in cost-cutting measures.
While on the other hand, US tech giant Google said that the company plans slow hiring throughout the year in the wake of a potential economic recession. Google CEO Sundar Pichai in an email to the employees stated the company will now focus on hiring “engineering, technical, and other critical roles,” in 2022 and 2024.
