Microsoft says staff layoffs not linked to recession fears
- Reference: 1657632607
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/07/12/microsoft_laying_off_staff/
- Source link:
The job losses, first reported by [1]Bloomberg , impact less than 1 percent of the 180,000-strong global workforce, and are said to be varied across geography and job role, including consulting, partner solutions, and customer groups.
A Microsoft spokesperson said: "Today we had a small number of role eliminations. Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis, and make structural adjustments accordingly."
[2]
Results for Q4 of Microsoft's fiscal 2022 are expected to appear near the end of this month with positive expectations.
[3]
[4]
For the [5]nine months ended 31 March , Microsoft turned over $146.4 billion in sales versus $121.93 billion in the corresponding prior year period. Net profit was up to $55.9 billion from $44.8 billion.
There is nothing lurking in the results that would indicate this round of employee redundancies is related to anything serious, and the Microsoft spokesperson said it would "grow headcount overall" in fiscal '23.
[6]
With tech results season beckoning, stock market analysts will be looking for evidence of a slowdown in enterprise tech spending. In recent months, Cisco and others have dialed back on recruitment, signaling some uncertainty on the road ahead.
[7]Tech hiring freeze doesn't mean people won't leave
[8]PC sales take double-digit tumble in Q2 amid economic downturn
[9]Coinbase CEO cuts 1,100 jobs, warns of 'crypto winter'
[10]Recession fears only stoking enterprise tech spending for Dell, others
Cisco CFO and senior veep [11]Scott Heren said in June that now is a "time for everyone to be prudent… So we're doing the same." Like Microsoft, he said it will hire in priority areas. "We're inspecting every opening."
Heren poured cold water on talk of a recession, saying Cisco has a multibillion-dollar backlog, including on software, and this engendered confidence in the business.
Also last month, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger confirmed it was [12]pausing recruitment in the PC division to "help us weather macroeconomic uncertainty". Salesforce said it is hiring in a "much more measured way." And Microsoft itself [13]slowed hiring for Windows, Teams, and Office business units in May.
Just yesterday, it emerged that Oracle was looking to cut costs by $1bn. This includes a restructure of the organization and the [14]potential elimination of thousands of jobs . Oracle has yet to publicly comment. ®
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[1] https://uk.news.yahoo.com/microsoft-cuts-jobs-structural-adjustment-044238562.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMqacyciyB67yQPj9Bro8mXOZX5GpBFPCSH-RVNSt6ZpMmqBeeQ3MrnXXNca-tmOmdYLrLZeRMJUl--Gt_eXfXO_N0o1C4MYyzH_h9HXaKTLdIDQPI5kJpGqPVNE5NsmQ8a-4mgdeoxn0GdneTlWU3dnFUDbQznUxanoVtRw2qXt
[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=2Ys2amCbysiyEgnd6mvEt2QAAAIw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] 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=44Ys2amCbysiyEgnd6mvEt2QAAAIw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Ys2amCbysiyEgnd6mvEt2QAAAIw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/earnings/fy-2022-q3/press-release-webcast
[6] 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=44Ys2amCbysiyEgnd6mvEt2QAAAIw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/02/tech_layoff_hiring/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/11/pc_sales_crash_doube_digits/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/14/coinbase_cuts_jobs/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/27/enterprise_tech_spending_up/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/16/cisco_dials_back_on_hiring/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/09/intel_hiring_freeze/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/27/microsoft_hiring_paused/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/11/oracle_cuts/
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Is it still a thing where MS get rid of the lowest performing x% of staff every year or was that never the case?
IIRC they stopped that a while back. The current issue that is causing Microsoft, Google, ect to lay off employees is that for the past few years they have had a policy of deliberately over hiring in order to deprive competitors and startups of talent.
That's why silicon valley companies have had all those silly policies like getting to spend time in a ball pit or work on your hobbies at work, because if everyone was fully productive all the time they would run out of work to do.
Now the changing economic situation has made all of that unsustainable and they are culling all the people they don't need.
I think it was called stack ranking. You can still read about those times at http://minimsft.blogspot.com/
Setting an example?
> There is nothing lurking in the results that would indicate this round of employee redundancies is related to anything serious,
Except perhaps removing some people who would not return to office working. Pour encourager les autres
Re: Setting an example?
Unlike some other big names, MS have been very relaxed about people working from home and have not exerted any pressure here. Trust me, I would know.
Nothing better than waiting for a payrise or a payoff.
Seems rather brutal to me.
Age
Anybody know if the demographics analysed employee age and/or pension allowances?
Asking for an old friend.
Shafted
Sure tech workers make more money than someone flipping burgers, but thanks to inflation, wage stagnation and increasing progressive taxes, the gap is narrowing.
Net profit was up to $55.9 billion
Workers have produced $55.9 billion profit and as a thank you gesture they get a kick in the teeth rather than having a piece of that pie.
It's a matter of time when selling weed will become a more sought after profession than engineering...