Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) is set for another round of layoffs, and sources say these will include underperformers in performance-based cuts. Business Insider reports that security will be impacted, but the layoffs will be throughout the company. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the layoffs, but they declined to say how many were hit by the cuts.
It is part of a broader tech giant move toward more aggressive performance management, in line with other competitors like Google (GOOG, Financial) and Amazon (AMZN, Financial). In the past months, managers have reviewed staff to ensure the workforce matches the firm's high-performance requirements. In line with Microsoft's longstanding focus on talent and growth, this is a way of fishing for the best results using an optimized team.
Estimates suggest that the cuts will represent less than 1% of Microsoft's global workforce of 228,000. This follows a trend of workforce reductions at the company. Last year, Microsoft axed roles in its Azure cloud division and then announced a big 10,000-job cull. Yet these efforts echo similar waves of job cuts taking place in the tech industry, including at Amazon and Google.
Although Microsoft is adjusting its workforce to compete in the face of the slowly dwindling tech industry, the job cuts continue into 2025.
