Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) is letting go of 6,000 employees—about 3% of its global workforce—in what looks like another step in its ongoing internal overhaul. The cuts span departments and countries, including LinkedIn, and are aimed at trimming management layers and reallocating resources toward what the company views as higher-growth opportunities. A spokesperson noted this move is part of “organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace.”
The timing isn't random. Microsoft's fiscal year wraps in June, a period when the company often recalibrates. Over the past month alone, it's shifted sales of small and mid-sized business software to outside firms and restructured key technical teams. At the same time, the company is digging deep into its pockets—about $80 billion this year—to build out the data centers powering Azure and its growing AI infrastructure. These changes suggest Microsoft is realigning around what it sees as its next chapter: leading the AI-driven enterprise stack.
Microsoft isn't alone in the reshuffle. Meta (META, Financial) is cutting 5% of staff, but plans to refill those seats with new hires. Salesforce (CRM, Financial) recently axed 1,000 roles to make room for AI talent. As AI takes center stage across the industry, this wave of restructuring could be less about shrinking—and more about recalibrating for what's next.
