Microsoft Lays Off Nearly 1,800 Employees While Restructuring But Says Will Keep Hiring
Tech giant Microsoft has laid off nearly 1% of its 1.8 lakh strong workforce amid restructuring plans. But the company has stated that it will continue to hire throughout the year.
The economic meltdown seems to have reached the big tech firms as well, with Satya Nadella-led Microsoft becoming the first tech giant to lay off employees as part of a 'realignment'.
The nearly 1,800 layoffs at Microsoft reportedly affect almost 1% of its 1,80,000-strong workforce across its offices and product divisions.
"Today we had a small number of role eliminations. Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis, and make structural adjustments accordingly," Microsoft told Bloomberg in a statement yesterday.
"We will continue to invest in our business and grow headcount overall in the year ahead."
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Microsoft has also reportedly slowed hiring in the Windows, Teams and Office groups.
The tech giant had reported strong earnings in its third quarter, with a 26% jump (on-year) in cloud revenue and overall revenue of $49.4 billion. However, amidst recession fears, it was reported that the company revised its Q4 revenue and earnings guidance downward last month. As per the Bloomberg report, the company said the layoffs were not spurred by the worsening economic picture.
In recent weeks, Twitter, too, has cut 30% of its recruiting team while Elon Musk¡¯s Tesla has also been laying off hundreds of employees, as per IANS. Musk had also warned his employees to either return to the office or quit.
Other tech companies that have slowed hiring include Nvidia, Snap, Uber, Spotify, Intel and Salesforce, among others.
Cloud major Oracle too has recently been considering laying off thousands of workers to save up to $1 billion in cost-cutting measures.
Also Read: Why Was There No iPhone 9 & Windows 9? Here's Why Microsoft & Apple Skipped The Number 9
Recession fears loom over major economies
All this comes amid recession fears looming over major economies around the world, as per Japanese Financial Firm Nomura¡¯s research.
Last week, the IMF Chief said that the outlook for the global economy had "darkened significantly" since April (2022) and the possibility of global recession next year could not be ruled out amid elevated risks.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that in the coming weeks, the IMF would downgrade its 2022 forecast for 3.6% global economic growth for the third time this year, adding that IMF economists were still finalizing the new numbers.
She said, "We are in very choppy waters.¡± Asked if she could rule out a global recession, she said, "The risk has gone up so we cannot rule it out."
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