Microsoft reportedly plans fresh layoffs, targets sales teams now

Layoffs have been rampant across tech industries. Every now and then, we come across some other report like this—this time, it’s Microsoft again. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft is planning to lay off thousands of employees, mostly from sales, as it closes out its fiscal year.

The announcement is expected in early July, though the timeline could still shift. While sales teams are expected to take the biggest hit, other departments may also be affected.

Microsoft hasn’t confirmed anything officially at the time of writing. If the report is accurate, the fresh round of layoffs will follow the layoffs in May that cut 6,000 roles. Back then, layoffs affected mostly the engineering and product teams. Sales and marketing were mostly untouched back then.

The company had reportedly hinted at things earlier. In April, it told employees that more sales for small and mid-sized customers would be handled by third-party firms.

Microsoft is spending tens of billions on AI infrastructure—servers, chips, data centers—and has made it clear that it plans to limit spending in other parts of the business.

As of June 2024, Microsoft had 228,000 employees, with 45,000 in sales and marketing. The company usually reshuffles its workforce around the end of its fiscal year, which wraps up this month.