In a bid to keep up with competitors, Microsoft has been reviewing its strategy, CEO Satya Nadella shared in a post on 18 January. Among the changes the company plans on implementing: cutting 10,000 staff by the end of the third quarter of 2023. This represents less than 5% of the company’s total employee numbers, according to Nadella, who justified this decision by saying that, in an economy on the cusp of a potential recession and changing consumer behaviours, “we as a company must strive to deliver results on an ongoing basis, while investing in our long-term opportunity.” He added that “it’s important to note that while we are eliminating roles in some areas, we will continue to hire in key strategic areas.” 

Microsoft plans on investing in “areas of secular growth and long-term competitiveness for the company,” while divesting from other areas of activity. The company also anticipated expenditure amounting to $1.2bn in Q2 “related to severance costs, changes to our hardware portfolio, and the cost of lease consolidation as we create higher density across our workspaces.” 

While US-based staff affected by the decision have been promised a variety of benefits, employees outside the country will see local severance law applied. did not specify which areas would be most affected by job cuts. 

The company isn’t the only tech business reshaping its workforce. at the start of 2023 announced it would cut 18,000 jobs, while Facebook parent Meta said it would slash 11,000 jobs. At Snapchat, 1,200 employees, around 20% of staff, faced the chop. IT group Salesforce said it would let go 10% of its workforce, around 8,000 people, while Elon Musk after his takeover of Twitter cut an estimated half of its global 7,500 staff.