LogInThe head of the company says that this decision was "difficult, but necessary."
On Tuesday, multiple publications reported that Microsoft was planning to cut thousands of jobs across its divisions, and now the company officially announced a series of layoffs, the largest in scale so far.
In a memo to staff that was disclosed in an SEC filing and Microsoft Blog, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that the company is letting go of 10,000 employees as part of broader cost-cutting measures amid an economic slowdown.
The head of the company added that the job cuts represent about 5% of Microsoft's global workforce and that the reductions would occur through the end of Q3 2023 which ends on March 31, with some employees being notified immediately.
"These decisions are difficult, but necessary," Nadella wrote. "They are especially difficult because they impact people and people’s lives – our colleagues and friends. We are committed to ensuring all those whose roles are eliminated have our full support during these transitions."
In addition, Nadella said that Microsoft is taking a $1.2 billion charge in the fiscal second quarter related to "severance costs, changes to [the company's] hardware portfolio, and the cost of lease consolidation." He also noted that the company would still continue to hire in "key strategic areas."
Microsoft is the latest among the technology companies that have lowered their headcount in recent months. In the fall, Meta announced that it would cut 11,000 jobs, and in early January, Amazon revealed that it was planning to lay off 18,000 people.
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