If Microsoft has regularly found itself on the front of the stage in recent weeks with the intention of buying Activision Blizzard for 69 billion dollars, the firm is illustrated today in a less glorious way. While the information shared this morning by
sky news foreshadowed a new massive wave of layoffs, Microsoft has actually confirmed the elimination of thousands of positions.
More than 10,000 jobs will officially be cut
While the company will announce its quarterly results next week, it has just confirmed the reduction in the overall workforce of 10,000 jobs until the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2023, or approximately 5% of the workforce. This morning, Bloomberg considered that this wave of layoffs was imminent and it only took a few hours to get confirmation from CEO Satya Nadella himself on the Microsoft blog.
“First, we will align our cost structure with our revenues and customer demand. Today, we are making changes that will reduce our overall headcount by 10,000 jobs through the end of the third quarter of FY23. This represents less than 5% of our total headcount, and some notifications have place today. It is important to note that while we eliminate roles in certain areas, we will continue to hire in key strategic areas. We know this is a difficult time for everyone involved. The management team and I are committed to leading this process in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible. »
In the article, Satya Nadella justifies this decision as a necessity so that Microsoft can continue to develop and sustain itself by aligning itself in particular with “their cost structure on their revenues and on customer demand. As for the branches affected, Nadella still wants to be quite evasive and it is difficult to know which sectors of the Microsoft group will be mainly affected.
“We will continue to hire in key strategic areas. We know this is a difficult time for everyone involved. […] Second, we will continue to invest in areas that are strategic for our future, which means that we allocate both our capital and our talents to areas of sustainable growth and long-term competitiveness for the company, while divesting in other areas. other areas. »
Last October, Microsoft had already laid off 1000 employees in various sectors such as Xbox or Azure. The company spoke at the time of “regularly evaluating its priorities and making structural adjustments accordingly”.
As for the laid-off employees and their future, Nadella is clear and reassuring when announcing that Microsoft will cover $1.2 billion related to “severance payments, changes to the hardware portfolio and the cost of consolidation. leases as they create greater density in their workspaces. »
The publication of the company’s quarterly results is scheduled for January 24, the day before the Developer_Direct dedicated to the next Xbox games.
