Microsoft just trimmed about 6,000 employees from its payroll, roughly 3% of a global workforce that stands at approximately 228,000 people. The cuts, announced on May 13, hit various levels and geographies, with software engineers and product managers taking a disproportionate share of the impact.
The layoffs are directly tied to Microsoft’s aggressive pivot toward artificial intelligence. The company has projected capital expenditures exceeding $80 billion for AI infrastructure in fiscal 2025 alone, and apparently decided that funding that ambition requires a leaner organizational structure everywhere else.
What actually happened
The reductions spanned the organization rather than targeting a single division. Engineers and product managers, the people who build and ship software, were hit especially hard.
Some forecasts suggest Microsoft could cut up to 9,000 jobs later in 2025 as the company continues to optimize around AI efficiency.
