Joining the layoffs spree, US tech giant Microsoft Corp on Wednesday announced that it would cut 10,000 jobs by the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2023. The layoffs will result in a charge of $1.2 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2023, representing a negative impact of 12 cents on per share profit, it said.
Microsoft said in July last year that a small number of roles had been eliminated, while news site Axios in October reported that the company had laid off under 1,000 employees across several divisions.
The Satya Nadella-led firm is also grappling with a slump in the personal computer market after a pandemic boom fizzled out, leaving little demand for its Windows and accompanying software.
Microsoft is getting ready to slash more jobs from its worldwide workforce as software companies continue to reduce staff numbers to weather the current economic crisis. According to Bloomberg News, Microsoft may announce layoffs in its engineering departments as soon as Wednesday. Microsoft will not comment on what it referred to as “rumour,” a spokeswoman for the company told AFP.
The Washington-based company, which according to industry experts employs over 220,000 people, reduced its workforce twice last year.
“Over the last few weeks we have seen significant headcount cut reduction from stalwarts Salesforce and Amazon,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors.
Wedbush is expecting staff cuts of another five to 10 percent across the tech sector, Ives told investors.
“Many of these companies were spending money like 1980’s Rock Stars and now need to reign in the expense controls ahead of softer (macro-economic conditions),” Ives wrote.
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Early in January, the online retail giant Amazon announced its decision to eliminate more than 18,000 positions, blaming “the uncertain economy” and the fact that it had “hired swiftly” during the pandemic.
The job-cutting exercise is the most significant among recent layoffs that have hit the hitherto unstoppable US tech sector, including Facebook ownercebook-owner Meta.
(With inputs from agencies)
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