Microsoft axes 4,800 jobs, including major cuts to Xbox

Source Domain: www.cnn.com

Microsoft is eliminating about 4,800 jobs — about 2.1% of the company’s global workforce — with its Xbox gaming unit among the hardest hit.

“Our business is changing because the world around it is changing,” Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s executive vice president and chief people officer, said in a message to employees on Monday. “The way technology is built, deployed, and used is transforming faster than at any point in my time here.”

While jobs at the company are not being replaced with artificial intelligence, the technology is “changing how work gets done,” Coleman wrote.

The changes come as Microsoft has faced pressure to establish itself as a major player in artificial intelligence while companies like Anthropic and OpenAI increasingly tailor their AI tools for business use and productivity. Microsoft, like other cloud companies, has also poured billions into AI infrastructure in recent years and is combating concerns over whether it can generate significant returns on those investments.

Monday’s cuts follow several rounds of layoffs and staffing changes across the tech industry over the past year as companies seek to cut personnel costs while ramping up AI spending.

Microsoft in April offered voluntary retirement to 7% of its US staff and said on Monday that more than 30% of eligible employees chose to participate. It also laid off around 9,000 workers roughly a year ago and 3% of its workforce in May last year. It plans to spend $190 billion in costs related to infrastructure and data centers in 2026, the company said during its most recent earnings call.

Microsoft also said it’s exploring approaches similar to its voluntary retirement program to avoid job cuts when possible.

The company plans to cut about…

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