Global economic meltdown: Microsoft lays off 1% of workforce

NEW DELHI: The economic downturn has hit Big Tech, with Satya Nadella-led Microsoft becoming the first tech giant to lay off staff as part of a 'realignment'. About 1 per cent of the 1,80,000-strong workforce will reportedly be affected by the layoffs at Microsoft across its offices and product divisions.

"Today we had a small number of role eliminations. Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis, and make structural adjustments accordingly," Microsoft told Bloomberg in a statement late on Tuesday.

"We will continue to invest in our business and grow headcount overall in the year ahead," the company added.

Microsoft also slowed hiring in Windows, Teams, and Office Groups. Microsoft reported strong earnings for its third quarter, with a 26 per cent jump in cloud revenue (on-year) and overall revenue of $49.4 billion.

However, last month, the company revised its Q4 revenue and earnings guidance downward. Twitter has cut 30 per cent of its recruiting team while Tesla, run by Elon Musk, is laying off hundreds of employees.

Nvidia, Snap, Uber, Spotify, Intel and Salesforce, among others, are the other companies that have slowed down hiring. Cloud major Oracle recently considered laying off thousands of workers to save up to $1 billion in cost-cutting measures, the media reported.

With inputs from IANS