Microsoft is laying off around 9,000 employees—roughly 4% of its global workforce of 228,000—in a new round of job cuts. This move follows recent reports of planned layoffs in the Xbox division, though the company had not previously disclosed the full scale of the reductions. Media reports indicate this could be Microsoft’s largest layoff round in the past 18 months.
What’s notable is that these cuts come despite the company reporting strong profits. Microsoft has described the layoffs as part of necessary “organizational changes” aimed at maintaining competitiveness in a “dynamic marketplace.” The job cuts will impact multiple departments and regions worldwide.
This latest round follows previous layoffs earlier in the year—starting with job cuts in January, followed by approximately 6,000 layoffs in May, and over 300 more in June as part of an ongoing restructuring process.
So far in 2025, Microsoft has reportedly cut more than 15,000 jobs. In parallel with these workforce reductions, the company has also been outsourcing some operations to reduce costs, even as it continues to prioritize investments in artificial intelligence (AI).
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