July 12, 2023
Microsoft has carried out a new round of layoffs, affecting 276 employees in the state of Washington. The layoffs, which were first reported by GeekWire, primarily targeted customer support and sales roles across teams, geographies, and various positions.
The layoffs come just six months after Microsoft announced a larger round of layoffs in January, which saw the company eliminate 10,000 jobs, or less than 5 percent of its staff.
According to a filing with the Washington state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) system, Microsoft indicated that the layoffs would effect 276 people in the state of Washington, with 66 of them having remote employment. This is part of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s goal to modernize the company’s hardware lineup and simplify leases.
In a statement, Microsoft said that the latest layoffs were “a necessary and regular part of managing our business.” The company said that it is “committed to prioritizing strategic growth areas and investing in our future, as well as supporting our customers and partners.”
Salespeople and customer success representatives took to social networks to share news of their job losses, indicating the scope of the cuts. LinkedIn posts further revealed that the reductions primarily targeted customer support and sales roles across teams, geographies, and various positions.
The sources for this piece include an article in Axios.
