May 13, 2025 — Redmond, Washington Microsoft laid off approximately 6,000 employees worldwide on Tuesday, representing about 3% of its roughly 228,000-person workforce, with 1,985 cuts tied to its Redmond headquarters, including 1,510 office roles, according to Washington state filings.
The layoffs affect all levels, teams, and geographies and mark the company’s largest job reductions since eliminating 10,000 roles in 2023.
A Microsoft spokesperson stated the cuts are part of organizational changes aimed at positioning the company for success in a dynamic marketplace, with one key objective being to reduce layers of management. The reductions are not performance-based.
“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace,” the spokesperson said.
“One objective is to reduce layers of management.”
Microsoft had reported strong quarterly results just weeks earlier, with $25.8 billion in net income and upbeat forecasts driven by AI cloud growth exceeding expectations. Shares closed at a 2025 high of $449.26 the day before the announcement.
The move follows a smaller performance-based layoff round in January 2025 and comes amid industry-wide cost-cutting in tech. CEO Satya Nadella had previously noted adjustments to sales incentives and go-to-market strategies due to slower non-AI Azure growth.
“How do you really tweak the incentives, go-to-market? At a time of platform shifts, you kind of want to make sure you lean into even the new design wins,” Nadella said in January.
Additional rounds followed later in 2025, with reports of up to 9,100 more cuts in July, including 2,290 in Redmond, as Microsoft pursued efficiency.
