Microsoft cuts another 9,000 jobs as it continues to say AI won't replace humans

Microsoft is laying off around 9,000 employees, which will impact just under 4% of its total global workforce. The cuts don’t seem to be focused on any particular area; instead, they’re widespread, affecting different teams, different roles, and countries. Companies seem to have been cutting staff numbers for several years now, and that goes for Microsoft too. In May, the company let go of 6,000 workers, while in June, it laid off another 300 people.

The main reason that Microsoft wants to make the cuts is to reduce the layers of management between the top executives and the people building the products and services. The Redmond giant also thinks the cuts will help it become more efficient and agile.

“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in an email to CNBC.

While it’s unknown how much of a role AI has had in Microsoft being able to make these cuts, it is ironic that Microsoft has been saying AI is not a threat to employees at the same time that it has been cutting thousands of jobs.

Microsoft isn’t alone in its layoffs this year. Autodesk, Chegg, and Crowdstrike are other tech firms that have reduced headcounts this year. By reducing employee numbers, companies can curry favor with investors who are concerned that capital expenditure is too high in an economic landscape where things are tougher for people financially.

The layoffs come against the backdrop of an unexpected decline in US private sector payrolls in June. The US private sector saw jobs decrease by 33,000 while economists had predicted an increase of 100,000.

What do you think about these cuts? Do you think they're the last we'll see, or are there more to come?

Source: CNBC | Image via Depositphotos.com

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