Satya Nadella, the company’s CEO, has today told staff that this represents less than 5 per cent of Microsoft’s total employee base, with some workers to be notified of changes starting today.
The message from Nadella has also been shared on Microsoft’s blog and emphasises that whilst the company “saw customers accelerate their digital spend during the pandemic”, the reverse is now happening, with customers wanting to “optimise their digital spend to do more with less”.
Nadella has highlighted his desire to be transparent about this process, with employees given “dignity and respect”.
He added, “These decisions are difficult, but necessary. They are especially difficult because they impact people and people’s lives – our colleagues and friends. We are committed to ensuring all those whose roles are eliminated have our full support during these transitions.”
Despite these job cuts, Microsoft has said it will continue to invest in “strategic areas” including AI amidst “the next major wave of computing”.