MS to Conduct Second Large-Scale Layoffs This Year, Cutting 9,000 Jobs

Microsoft (MS) is set to carry out its second large-scale round of layoffs this year, according to Bloomberg and other media outlets on July 2 (local time).

In a statement emailed to the press, an MS spokesperson announced the restructuring plan. Approximately 9,000 employees, representing just under 4% of the company's global workforce across various teams and career levels, will be laid off. The spokesperson stated, "We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to position the company and our teams for success in a dynamic market."

In May of this year, MS also announced a large-scale layoff plan and dismissed around 6,000 employees. At the time, MS indicated that the layoffs were aimed at "reducing unnecessary management layers," suggesting the company was seeking to streamline its management structure.

Regarding the current round of layoffs, an MS representative told CNBC that the effort reflects the company's intention to reduce the number of management layers between frontline employees and top executives. Bloomberg also pointed out that technology companies are restructuring their workforces to cut costs in other areas, as they spend massive amounts of capital on AI development, such as training large language models and building data centers. MS, which has spent tens of billions of dollars on data centers and application (app) development, has previously promised investors that it would implement proper cost management.

Anurag Rana, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, explained that this round of layoffs could help offset the increase in spending related to building AI infrastructure. He also added that it may more strongly reflect the company's internal policy to utilize AI tools.

As of the end of June last year, MS had a total of 228,000 employees, of whom 45,000 worked in sales and marketing. MS has traditionally announced major organizational restructuring and internal policy changes at the end of its fiscal year, which concludes every June.