Microsoft plans to announce a fresh round of layoffs next week that will touch several thousand positions across the company, according to people familiar with the situation. The reductions will include roles within sales and consulting groups and staff tied to the Xbox gaming division.
Company officials expect this wave of cuts to be smaller in scale than the workforce reductions implemented last year. Overall, the upcoming trimming of staff is projected to amount to less than 2.5% of Microsoft’s roughly 220,000-strong global workforce.
The announcement follows a pattern of steady job reductions at the technology giant over the past three years, as management seeks to rein in costs. At the same time, the company has been directing a substantial portion of its spending toward artificial intelligence initiatives, a strategic priority that has shaped recent resource-allocation decisions.
Details available so far indicate the job losses will span commercial-facing functions such as sales and consulting, as well as teams connected to Xbox operations. The information released ahead of the planned disclosure does not provide a breakdown of exact headcount by business unit, nor does it specify which regions or levels of staff will be most affected.
Microsoft’s approach in this round is framed as a continuation of a broader cost-management effort rather than a large-scale restructuring, given the company’s indication that the percentage of roles being cut will be smaller than last year’s layoffs. Beyond the numerical scope, the company has emphasized shifting a greater share of investment into AI-related priorities, which has been cited as a central rationale for recent staffing adjustments.
For now, timelines and detailed implementation plans are expected to be disclosed with the official announcement next week. The publicly stated facts leave open several specifics - including precise headcount by team and geographic distribution - which have not been disclosed in available reports.
Impacted sectors and context
- Technology sector: corporate cost management and AI investment priorities.
- Gaming sector: Xbox division staffing will be affected.
- Commercial services: sales and consulting teams are among those targeted.