Microsoft has recently announced that it has conducted a third round of job cuts affecting employees in various roles related to supply chain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT). This is part of the 10,000 job cuts the company announced earlier this year.
The layoffs were reported to have been carried out across various levels, functions, teams, and geographies. In Washington state, the company laid off 689 employees, according to records, while in February, it notified the state of California that 108 employees were let go. The company had previously informed Washington state that 878 employees were cut, bringing the total number of employees let go in the state to 2,184.
According to a LinkedIn post by a Microsoft employee, the company has shut down its AI-powered automation effort, Project Bonsai, and laid off the team. Another principal product manager, who worked for more than 18 years at Microsoft and led a team of product managers in Supply Chain Engineering, a part of the Cloud and AI group in Microsoft, wrote on LinkedIn that "a significant part of my group and I were let go".
The job cuts come as Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella announced in January that the company will be "making changes that will result in the reduction of our overall workforce by 10,000 jobs through the end of FY23 Q3 (third quarter)". With over 220,000 employees, the layoffs affected around 5% of Microsoft's workforce.
The tech giant has not provided any further details on the layoffs or the reasons behind them. However, it is believed that the job cuts are part of Microsoft's efforts to streamline its operations and focus on its core businesses. The company has been investing heavily in cloud computing and AI in recent years, and the job cuts may be a sign that it is consolidating its efforts in these areas.