Jan. 8, 2026 — Redmond, Wash. Microsoft’s Chief Communications Officer Frank X. Shaw dismissed rumors Thursday of major layoffs planned for January that could affect 11,000 to 22,000 jobs, calling them “100 percent made up / speculative/wrong.”
The speculation, originating from anonymous posts on employee forum Blind and reports by TipRanks and The HR Digest, alleged cuts representing 5-10% of Microsoft’s roughly 220,000-person workforce.
100 percent made up / speculative / wrong.
— Frank X. Shaw (@fxshaw) January 7, 2026
Targeted areas included Azure cloud teams, Xbox gaming, global sales, and middle management, purportedly to fund over $80 billion in AI data center investments.
Shaw’s statement came in reply to Windows Central editor Jez Corden, who described Xbox-specific claims as “false on the Xbox side at least.”
100 percent made up / speculative / wrong.
— Frank X. Shaw (@fxshaw) January 7, 2026
GameSpot and India Today echoed the denial, emphasizing a lack of evidence beyond Blind threads amplified on Reddit’s r/Games and r/GamingLeaksAndRumours, X, and sites like Neowin and Dimsum Daily. No mainstream outlets, such as Reuters or Bloomberg, have confirmed the claims.
The rumors align with Microsoft’s history of January adjustments and 2025 reductions totaling over 15,000 positions, including 9,000 in July.
In Redmond, Microsoft’s headquarters, the 2025 layoffs impacted about 1,985 local roles.
Observers recommend monitoring WARN notices after Jan. 18 and upcoming earnings for headcount updates.
On X, the story trended since Jan. 7, with posts from accounts like @DealsDhamaka (1.9K likes) and @IndianTechGuide (3K likes) spreading the rumor, countered by @tomwarren noting no reputable sourcing.
