Microsoft has announced a second wave of job cuts in 2025, with plans to lay off approximately 9,000 employees globally as part of its ongoing efforts to streamline operations and control costs. The move affects around 4% of the company’s total workforce, which stood at 228,000 as of June 2024.
According to a Bloomberg report, citing a company spokesperson, the layoffs will span multiple departments, regions, and seniority levels — signaling a company-wide effort to flatten management layers and improve operational efficiency.
Focus on Restructuring and Simplification
The spokesperson explained that the job cuts are part of broader organizational changes aimed at simplifying internal structures and eliminating redundant management layers.
“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” the company stated.
The latest round primarily impacts Microsoft’s sales division — including frontline salespeople — and parts of its Xbox gaming unit. This follows an earlier round of layoffs in May 2025, which saw 6,000 roles cut, mostly from product and engineering teams.
Microsoft typically conducts such restructuring toward the end of its fiscal year, which ends in June. Notably, the company employs roughly 45,000 people in sales and marketing globally.
In a related update, Microsoft’s Chief Commercial Officer, Judson Althoff, who oversees global sales, is set to begin a two-month sabbatical in July. The company emphasized that the leave was pre-planned, with Althoff expected to return in September.
Tech Layoffs Continue into 2025
Microsoft’s latest layoffs come amid a continuing wave of job cuts in the tech sector that began in 2023 and shows no signs of slowing down in 2025. Economic headwinds, restructuring efforts, and massive investments in artificial intelligence are driving major workforce reductions across the industry.
In April 2025, Google, owned by Alphabet, laid off hundreds of staff from its Platforms and Devices division — including teams behind Android, Pixel, and Chrome — as part of a broader restructuring effort. A voluntary exit program introduced earlier in January preceded the cuts.
According to data from Layoffs.fyi, over 27,000 tech workers were laid off globally between January and April 2025, with February alone accounting for 16,084 job losses — making it the worst-hit month in Q1. These numbers follow a turbulent 2024, during which more than 150,000 jobs were slashed across 549 tech companies worldwide.
As the tech industry continues to recalibrate for the AI-driven future, analysts predict that layoffs and internal reorganizations will remain widespread through the rest of the year.
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