Microsoft on Wednesday is laying off about 9,000 employees, or just under 4% of its workforce, as the world’s second-most valuable company goes through its second round of layoffs in the past few months.
“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft spokesperson shared in a statement with TheWrap.
The cuts on Wednesday are aimed at its gaming and sales divisions, but will ultimately hit employees across several other sectors of the tech giant as well, regardless of level, team, location or tenure.
Microsoft’s Xbox team will feel the impact, in addition to about 200 employees from its King division, the mobile-focused brand behind games like “Candy Crush”. That will account for 10% of King, according to Bloomberg.
This is the fourth round of layoffs to hit Microsoft’s Xbox team since 2023.
Wednesday’s layoffs come less than two months after Microsoft cut about 6,000 jobs in May. A company spokesperson told CNBC that round of layoffs aimed to reduce “unnecessary layers” at the company by reducing how many managers Microsoft employed.
Wall Street did not seem to mind the latest round of cuts on Wednesday, though, with Microsoft’s stock price climbing about 0.20% in early trading to $492.88 per share. The Washington-based company is worth about $3.7 trillion, putting it right before Nvidia when it comes to the world’s most valuable public companies.
