Microsoft boots 3% of staff in latest cull, middle managers first in line
- Reference: 1747161663
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/05/13/microsoft_layoff/
- Source link:
Redmond confirmed the move to The Register , saying it's part of an effort to streamline operations by culling managers. With a headcount of around [1]228,000 as of the end of June, that 3 percent translates to nearly 7,000 people worldwide now headed for the exit.
"We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace," Microsoft said in an emailed statement.
[2]
Redmond telegraphed the move last month. During Microsoft's Q3 earnings call in late April, CFO Amy Hood [3]said the company was "reducing layers with fewer managers" as part of its push for agility and high-performing teams - a clear hint the axe was already being sharpened.
[4]
The latest layoffs mark the second round of job cuts at Microsoft this year, following [5]a smaller wave in January that affected less than one percent of employees. That round included roles in the security division and the cuts targeting underperforming employees. The current layoffs appear to be Microsoft's largest since it culled [6]more than [7]10,000 workers in 2023.
[8]Googlers asked if they'd like to bury themselves next to Stadia, Chromecast, DropCam
[9]Hurrah! AI won't destroy developer or DBA jobs
[10]Tech titans assemble to decide which jobs AI should cut first
[11]Hands-on jobs to grow fastest, because AI can't touch them
While Microsoft didn't mention AI specifically, it did mention plans to eliminate busy work for its remaining employees by leveraging new technologies and capabilities. But other tech names cutting jobs in the first five months of 2025 have been increasingly claiming AI has played a role in eliminating workers.
As we've reported, companies including [12]Duolingo and [13]Workday have both scrapped jobs due to AI's alleged ability to handle an increasing amount of human tasks. The IRS, which saw significant enforcement staff reductions under the Trump administration, has also acknowledged plans to [14]use AI to supplement its tax collection capabilities.
Multiple studies have suggested that [15]management roles - especially those at [16]the mid level - are particularly vulnerable to automation. So it's not far-fetched to imagine Microsoft quietly attempting to swap a few carbon-based bosses for silicon ones. ®
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://news.microsoft.com/facts-about-microsoft/#:~:text=126%2C000-,Worldwide,As%20of%20June%2030%2C%202024,-Additional%20information%20and
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aCPA6MSfJO5OfN3j-xWnQwAAAIw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/events/fy-2025/earnings-fy-2025-q3#:~:text=Operating%20expenses%20increased,with%20fewer%20managers.
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aCPA6MSfJO5OfN3j-xWnQwAAAIw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/09/microsoft_cutting_more_jobs/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/11/microsoft_more_layoffs/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/18/microsoft_job_cuts/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/31/googles_latest_layoffs_buyout/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/25/bls_ai_job_impacts_predictions/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/04/ai_replacement_jobs/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/10/ai_jobs_wef/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/29/duolingo_ceo_ai_first_shift/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/05/workday_restructure_job_cuts/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/08/irs_ai_plans/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/05/ai_management_jobs/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/12/ai_recruitment/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Renameing it, that is funny!
I've seen that renaming of "AI" a few weeks before at other, notably smaller, companies. It is now automation, not AI. All across the board.
Jobsworths
Maybe they should just fire all the "jobsworths" who come up with all the shite features nobody wants to justify their continued existence.
Most of the shite doesn't work anyway.
Re: Jobsworths
Fire them into the sun I say
Or build a b-ark
Translation required
" it did mention plans to eliminate busy work for its remaining employees "
Soooo all the remaining workers will now be doing idle work?
How can that happen? Software can't play golf!
You can see them planning to axe managers from the Windows Update QA and security units, only to discover that no such units exist.
I appreciate that readers of El Reg take a dim view of management, considering it to be an unnecessary evil, but in a well run company [off topic, I admit, but hang on in there], management are people who have done the job of their underlings and shown leadership ability. The idea of running without them is daft. Can you imagine answering to a piece of software? Interacting with it? How does that even work?
The tech sector seems to be believing its own propaganda on 'AI', and ignoring that paragraph on p.685 of the terms and conditions about it being experimental, often unreliable and just a bit of fun. If I had shares in a company that started to replace people with 'AI' I would sell them.
OK, so the suits will see this as the next big thing in saving operating costs so they can have bigger bonuses, after outsourcing to Indian call centres and then to FAQs, but replacing people with 'AI' is insane.
The only saving grace here is that, with W11, MS have already made Windows awful beyond usability. If you cannot switch to Linux, it may be time to switch to LTSC and hunker down as things really go pear-shaped. Maybe, after a few expensive catastrophes, they will jettison those responsible for the last few years of MS, writing it off as a bad trip, and flip back to having carbon based lifeforms secure an earlier version of Windows for everyone to use.
Coming soon...
20%-30% price rises across the board.
They have to keep Wall St happy especially when Dear Leader is doing his best to tank the world economy but expectations have to be met every 90 days otherwise C-Level heads will roll and they can't have that now can we?