Microsoft is prepared to make significant staff cuts in several divisions, according to reports.
An anonymous source who spoke to Axios (opens in a new tab) put the figure at around 1.000 jobs, although the company has yet to officially confirm the news.
This isn't the first report we've seen of Microsoft cutting its headcount in recent months; in July 2022, the software giant confirmed that it had reduced its total headcount by about 1%.
What drives layoffs?
In response to the news, Microsoft declined to provide the reasons for these actions.
"Like all companies, we regularly assess our business priorities and make structural adjustments accordingly," he told Axios. "We will continue to invest in our business and hire in key growth areas over the next year."
Microsoft is expected to announce its latest results on October 25, and while it remains hugely profitable, that success is not shared equally across business divisions.
The company's revenue increased 18% in the third quarter of 2022, while net income increased 8% year over year to $49 billion and $400 billion, respectively. The company's cloud division was disproportionately successful, reporting revenue growth of 16% to €700 billion.
But Microsoft isn't alone in downsizing, with several other tech giants also following suit.
Salesforce reportedly laid off about 90 employees recently, its first round of layoffs since 2020.
In addition, companies such as Meta, Google, Apple, Twitter and Amazon have announced hiring freezes so far in 2022.
Shares of the software giant have fallen about 30% this year, in line with the rest of the tech-heavy NASDAQ stock index.