No fewer than six thousand employees of Microsoft, the American multinational technology company, are to be laid off.
The company revealed that it had a total of 228,000 employees as of June 2024.
On Tuesday, CNBC reports that the new layoffs by the tech giant represent 3 percent of employees across all levels, teams, and geographies.
“We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace,” the company’s spokesperson said.
“One objective is to reduce layers of management. These new job cuts are not related to performance.”
The announcement comes just a week after Microsoft confirmed the official shutdown of Skype, bringing an end to the platform’s more than two-decade run as a pioneering video and messaging service.
On February 28, Microsoft informed users to migrate to Microsoft Teams to preserve their contacts and chat histories.
Skype, which connected people across the globe for nearly 22 years, called the shutdown “the end of an era.” Microsoft stated that users have until January 2026 to migrate their data, after which all remaining information will be permanently deleted.
The move, according to the company, aligns with its broader strategy to streamline its suite of communication tools.
This development follows Microsoft’s earlier announcement in 2023 that it would cut approximately 10,000 jobs—around 5% of its global workforce—as part of efforts to respond to macroeconomic pressures and evolving customer needs.
