Microsoft to Cut Thousands of Jobs as It Boosts AI Investments, Bloomberg Reports
Microsoft is planning to reduce its workforce by thousands of employees, particularly in its sales division, as the tech giant streamlines operations amid growing investments in artificial intelligence, according to Bloomberg News citing sources familiar with the matter.
This upcoming round of layoffs follows a previous cutback in May, which affected around 6,000 Microsoft workers.
The company has significantly increased its AI investments, aiming to strengthen its leadership position as businesses across various sectors rapidly integrate AI technologies to stay competitive.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently noted that the deployment of generative AI and intelligent agents is expected to reduce Amazon’s overall corporate workforce in the coming years.
For this fiscal year, Microsoft has allocated $80 billion in capital expenditures, with a large portion dedicated to expanding data centers to address capacity constraints needed for AI services.
The job cuts are anticipated to be announced early next month, after the conclusion of Microsoft’s fiscal year, the report said.
Microsoft declined to comment on the report.
While sales teams are expected to be notably affected, the layoffs will not be limited to them, and the timing of the announcements may still change, according to the report.
As of June last year, Microsoft employed around 228,000 people globally.
It remains unclear how these job reductions will impact Microsoft’s operations in Ireland.