Microsoft announces another round of mass layoffs

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REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft announced that it is, once again, firing thousands of workers – its second mass layoff in months.in another indication of the tightening job market at big technology companies.

The tech giant began sending out layoff notices on Wednesday.

Microsoft layoffs continue

By the numbers:

The company declined to say how many people would be laid off but said that it will comprise less than 4% of the workforce it had a year ago.

Microsoft employed 228,000 full-time workers as of last June, the last time it reported its annual headcount. This means, 4% of that workforce would be about 9,000 people.

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Microsoft said the cuts will affect multiple teams around the world, including its sales division and its Xbox video game business.

What they're saying:

"We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace," it said in a statement.

A Microsoft corporate logo hangs on the side of their office building on Eighth Avenue on April 29, 2023, in New York City. (Credit: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Phil Spencer, who leads Microsoft’s video game business, said in a note to his division on Wednesday that the cuts were part of "the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities" and focus on areas with the most potential, according to The New York Times.

Layoffs by Microsoft over last year

The backstory:

This news comes following multiple layoffs by the company over the past year.

Until now, the biggest was in May, when Microsoft began laying off about 6,000 workers, nearly 3% of its global workforce and its largest job cuts in more than two years as the company spent heavily on artificial intelligence.

EARLIER: Microsoft to lay off about 3% of its workforce

Microsoft also cut another 300 workers based out of its Redmond, Washington headquarters in June, on top of nearly 2,000 who lost their jobs in the Puget Sound region in May, according to notices it sent to Washington state employment officials.

The layoffs announced in May were heavily focused on people in software engineering and product management roles, according to lists the company sent to employment agencies in Washington and California — where the cuts also hit Microsoft offices in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Big picture view:

Microsoft is one of many tech companies that have scaled back their pandemic-era expansions. 

Other major companies that have laid off thousands of employees in recent years include Amazon, Google, eBay and Salesforce.