Microsoft lays off nearly 1,000 staffers: Reports

After reportedly committing to nearly double its budget for salary hikes in May in order to retain employees, Microsoft this week laid off close to 1,000 employees, according to reports from Axios, Business Insider, and other news organizations.

A report by The Washington Post said that Microsoft employee and industry veteran Greg Chapman had confirmed the dismissal of some of the employees in his Studio Alpha team on Twitter before making the account private. Studio Alpha develops gaming techniques to address government and military issues.

A Microsoft employee, named KC Lemson, took to Twitter to say that she was dismissed from the company on Monday.

In addition to the Studio Alpha team, layoffs affected employees in other areas of the company including the Edge and Xbox teams, according to reports.

While the company didn’t confirm or deny the layoffs, it issued a statement: “Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis, and make structural adjustments accordingly. We will continue to invest in our business and hire in key growth areas in the year ahead.”

This is not the first time that the company has promised to hire people after news of layoffs hit the streets.

In July, after reports surfaced that Microsoft fired nearly 1% of its 180,000 employees globally, the company said it would continue to hire more people.

Tech companies continue to downsize or restructure

Several technology companies have continued to lay off employees in the last few months with several such as Apple, Google and Meta indicating they would pause hiring and cut costs.

Last week, Oracle cut 201 employees, including data scientists and developers, from its Redwood Shores office, just months after dismissing employees from its Bay Area offices.

These layoffs come at a time when hiring for IT jobs are slowing due to worries about an economic downturn.  

Even though there is still overall job growth in the sector, fears of a recession have throttled the positive trend, according to an analysis of US Bureau of Labor Statistics by Janco, a US-based international consulting firm.