Reports say Microsoft will announce thousands of layoffs on Wednesday.
Sky News first reported that the software company is considering cutting back around 5% of its workforce, which would amount to around 11,000 jobs.
The cuts will likely focus on engineering divisions, a source close to the matter told Bloomberg. Microsoft has not made any announcements or comments on the reports yet.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and said on Wednesday, “No one can defy gravity and gravity here is inflation-adjusted economic growth,” per CNN.
He also referred to the extremely rapid growth many tech companies experienced during the pandemic and said, “We will have to do more with less.”
The company will announce its second quarter reports and earnings on Jan. 24.
What other tech companies have had big layoffs?
Tech companies were one of the business sectors that thrived during the pandemic and many went on multiple hiring sprees to meet the demands. Here’s a timeline of some of the notable tech companies the Deseret News reported on that announced a round of layoffs in the last year.
- Aug. 3, 2022: Tech investment platform Robinhood slashed 23% of its workforce.
- Oct. 18, 2022: Microsoft cut just under 1,000 jobs nationwide.
- Nov. 4, 2022: Twitter laid off 3,700 of the social media giant’s 7,500 employees.
- Nov. 9, 2022: Meta announced it was laying off 11,000 workers.
- Nov. 23, 2022: HP downsized its workforce by 6,000 people.
- Nov. 30, 2022: AMC Networks cut 20% of its workforce.
- Jan. 5: Amazon announced it was cutting 18,000 jobs, which is 6% of its workforce.