|
The
company said it was making the cuts for the sake of efficiency
and to allow new investments in parts of its business, as first
reported by Bloomberg, which also said the company will leave
about 6,000 jobs unfilled.
Also Thursday, Microsoft said it was offering voluntary buyouts
to thousands of its U.S. employees.
The software giant plans to make the offers in early May to
about 8,750 people, or 7% of its U.S. workforce, according to
two people familiar with the plan who were not authorized to
speak about it publicly.
While an alternative to the sudden layoffs removing tech workers
from peers like Meta and Oracle, the savings are likely tied to
a similar industry upheaval that is requiring huge spending on
the costs of artificial intelligence. Meta has already warned
investors that its 2026 expenses will grow significantly — to
the range of $162 billion to $169 billion — driven by
infrastructure costs and employee compensation, particularly for
the artificial intelligence experts it’s been hiring at
eye-popping pay levels.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives welcomed Meta’s cuts in a note to
investors Thursday.
He said he sees it as part of a strategy of using AI tools to
“automate tasks that once required large teams, allowing the
company to streamline operations and reduce costs while
maintaining productivity driving an increased need for a leaner
operating structure.”
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, has spent billions of
dollars operating an ever-expanding global network of data
centers powering cloud computing services, AI systems and its
own suite of productivity tools, including the AI assistant
Copilot.
CNBC reported earlier Thursday on a memo from Microsoft's chief
people officer, Amy Coleman, announcing the voluntary retirement
plan.
“Our hope is that this program gives those eligible the choice
to take that next step on their own terms, with generous company
support,” Coleman wrote, according to CNBC.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
|
