The company laid off 1,985 workers in Washington state in May, representing about a third of the global workforce reduction at that time. Additionally, in early June, 305 more employees were laid off in Redmond. In total, Microsoft has cut over 3,100 jobs in Washington state in less than two months.
Before the recent layoffs, Microsoft had around 54,000 employees in the Seattle region, out of a global workforce of approximately 228,000. The latest round of layoffs accounts for about 4% of the company’s total workforce.
While Microsoft has not explicitly tied the job cuts to its AI strategy, reports indicate that software engineers were heavily impacted in the May layoffs. This aligns with the company’s increased focus on AI tools to automate coding processes. A spokesperson mentioned that organizational changes are being made to ensure the company’s success in a competitive market.
Employees affected by the layoffs were informed on Wednesday morning. Various divisions, including sales and gaming, were impacted, as speculated prior to the announcement. The layoffs were spread across different teams and groups within the company.
