Microsoft (MSFT) laid off workers across multiple divisions yesterday (Oct. 17), Axios reported. An unnamed source told the outlet fewer than 1,000 employees were affected.
The cuts included workers in the Xbox gaming console division, as well Microsoft Strategic Missions and Technology, which is focused on next generation technology, Business Insider reported. KC Lemson, a program manager in the chief technology officer’s office who has been with the company for more than 20 years, said on Twitter she was among those who lost their jobs.
Welp, who’s got two thumbs and just got laid off from Microsoft this morning?
2022 has been quite a year. pic.twitter.com/JfsbwKvKfV
— KC Lemson (@kclemson) October 18, 2022
Microsoft previously cut jobs in July. Those layoffs affected less than 1 percent of the company’s 180,000-person workforce. Microsoft’s stock has fallen 28 percent since the beginning of the year, and in the three months ending in June the company reported its slowest revenue growth since 2020.
Other big tech firms including Meta, Google, and Amazon have all sought to cut costs by laying off workers or freezing hiring in recent months. More than 90,000 tech workers have been laid off this year, according to Layoffs.fyi, which tracks job cuts at startups. Yesterday Bloomberg Economics forecast that a recession is effectively certain in the next year.
