Microsoft 1st Tech Firm to Lay Off 1,800 Staff As Part of Business Realignment

Microsoft  is the first  big tech firm that  has laid off  nearly 1,800 employees which is  1% of its 1,80,000-strong workforce across its offices and product divisions on Monday. This move was said to be as part of its realignment of its business groups and roles after the close of its fiscal year on June 30. However the company said that  it plans to keep hiring for other roles and finish the current fiscal year with increased headcount.

The layoffs spanned a variety of groups including consulting and customer and partner solutions and were dispersed across geographies. “Today we had a small number of role eliminations. Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis, and make structural adjustments accordingly,” Microsoft said. “We will continue to invest in our business and grow headcount overall in the year ahead,” it said in a release to Bloomberg.

The company said the layoffs were not spurred by the worsening economic picture, but in May it also slowed hiring in the Windows and Office groups. Twitter too had cut 30% of its recruiting team where less than 100 employees of the talent acquisition team were affected by the layoffs, according to the firm.

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