After speculations of a software market slowdown, Microsoft has joined the ranks of tech companies currently reducing their headcount.
A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the recent development and said the weaker sales of Windows licenses to PCs result in lower revenue. He said that the action the company took was in a bid to stop loss.
While speaking to news outlets, the spokesperson of the tech company failed to reveal the number of workers whose job security was at risk. However, sources with knowledge of what is happening mentioned that those expected to lose their jobs are under 1000.
It is also known that Microsoft's latest layoffs won't be concentrated in one country or region. It is going to affect some of their employees worldwide.
Most workers who have lost their jobs or expect to lose their jobs have taken to social media platforms to speak of their experiences and expectations.
Generally, since the start of the year, Microsoft has been generating revenue below its expectations within the last five years. Within the first fiscal quarter of 2022, the tech company announced about 10% growth in their revenue which was below average as of the last five years.
Microsoft's latest layoffs are not the only news of the increasing threat to job security. Many other giant tech companies have been announcing job layoffs within 2022.
Famous companies such as Meta announced that they are laying off thousands of employees due to economic problems.
As expected, Microsoft released a statement saying that those workers they laid off were part of their plans to make structural adjustments to the company.
"Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis and make structural adjustments accordingly. We will continue to invest in our businesses and hire in key growth areas in the year ahead," a Microsoft spokesperson said to Axio.
Microsoft CEO Speaks on Remote Work
While addressing the audience at Yahoo Finance's All Market Sumit, the CEO of Microsoft, shared his views concerning working from home.
Satya Nadella, the Microsoft CEO, acknowledged while speaking at the summit that employees and bosses still have disagreements when the topic of working from home is brought up.
Nadella spoke using the data that the Works Trends Study provided. About 20,000 people participated in the survey across 11 countries.
From the data, about 87% of employees believe that working from home or in a hybrid environment helps them to be more productive. The survey also pointed out that about 85% of employers don't have confidence in their employees' productivity when working from home.
Nadella said that employers' lack of confidence in remote work is just a paradox. He pleaded his case, saying employers might be forced to adopt the same method when they have more data on how a hybrid setup improves productivity.
"I think the best way to bridge the paradox is not to have more dogma but more data. Instead of this being some kind of argument, let the data really help us move forward," Satya Nadella said.