• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 2, 2025

Microsoft has laid off about 4% of its workforce, or about 9,000 people, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The percentage of layoffs in advertising, marketing and cloud services is unknown, but it appears that costs and efficiencies from AI could have contributed.

The reductions follow cuts of about 6,000 positions last quarter, which hit product and engineering teams.

In June, the company filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice to cut 305 roles by August. WARN is a legal document that employers must provide to employees 60 days before a plant closing or mass layoff.

“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft spokesperson told MediaPost.

Some believe these layoffs were related to Microsoft’s push to automate processes with AI as the company continues to invest in the technology. Github Copilot, the company’s product for coding and software development, has more than 15 million users.

The company is calling the layoff part of its “organizational changes” that will best position for future success.

Even in the best of times, the company said it has regularly adjusted its workforce to meet the strategic demands of the business needs, and empowers employees to spend more time focusing on meaningful work by leveraging new technologies and capabilities

The goal, per Microsoft, is to enhance efficiencies and minimize redundancy by streamlining processes, products, procedures and roles.

While this is Microsoft’s second major round of layoffs this year, it has hired others in different departments and capacities such as Navah Hopkins, who officially became the advertising division’s ads liaison in June.

Amazon has warned its employees about possible layoffs. The message hidden in a blog post from Andy Jassy, Amazon chief executive officer.

Jassy told employees last month that he expects workers to learn AI and how it might improve their job performance. He also explained how Amazon’s corporate workforce could shrink in the coming years as the company gains efficiency from AI.

Generative AI (GAI) developments seems to have made companies go on a frantic firing and hiring spree. Meta Platforms last week announced its Superintelligence division. The company has had a recruiting blitz to find the most highly qualified candidates.