A slowdown in the global economy will force the American tech giant to lay off 10,000 employees by March 31.
The world’s largest technology company announced Wednesday that it will cut 10,000 jobs worldwide, nearly 5% of its workforce, and incur a $1.2 billion charge.
The company’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, told employees the notifications will begin on Wednesday as part of the process to end layoffs by the end of March, according to a memo seen by Reuters.
In the opinion of the CEO, the company was struggling with a downward trend in the PC market during the pandemic, as customers, who had increased their digital spending during the pandemic, are now trying to optimize their digital spending to do more with less”.
“As some parts of the world are in a recession and others expect one, many organizations are treading cautiously across industries and geographies,” Nadella wrote.
Additionally, he said that Microsoft will continue to hire in key strategic areas, emphasizing the need to build a “new computing platform” using artificial intelligence.
It seems as if Microsoft has joined other big tech companies in making similar announcements amid growing concerns about an economic slowdown throughout the world.
A recent report predicts Amazon will cut about 18,000 jobs, while Facebook parent Meta will cut 11,000, about 13% of its workforce. Twitter’s new CEO, Elon Musk, has also cut the company’s workforce.
By Orlando J. Gutiérrez