Overview

• Microsoft will eliminate about 9,000 roles, representing just under 4% of its roughly 228,000 employees, as it kicks off its new fiscal year.
• The company plans to reduce middle-management layers and streamline product, sales and customer-facing teams to boost agility and efficiency.
• Microsoft Gaming will see fresh cuts across Xbox studios and King’s Candy Crush unit, where about 10% of staff—around 200 positions—will be cut in the fourth major Xbox layoff since early 2024.
• Despite posting a record $25.8 billion quarterly profit, Microsoft is redirecting savings toward a planned $80 billion investment in AI and cloud infrastructure.
• These reductions follow approximately 6,000 layoffs in May and additional smaller cuts in June as part of a broader headcount recalibration that began in January 2023.