LOCAL NEWS
Microsoft layoffs impact over 150 jobs; no raises for employees
May 12, 2023, 9:55 AM
According to a new listing on the state Employment Security Department’s website, Microsoft will let another 158 employees go permanently. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
More local layoffs for Microsoft workers, as well as the announcement that full-time employees will not receive raises this year, as part of on-going cost-cutting measures.
According to a new listing on the state Employment Security Department’s website, the company will let another 158 employees go permanently. These layoffs are separate from the 10,000 layoffs the company announced back in January.
Microsoft announces nearly 600 cuts in latest round of regional layoffs
“Organizational and workforce adjustments are a necessary and regular part of managing our business,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to GeekWire. “We will continue to prioritize and invest in strategic growth areas for our future and in support of our customers and partners.”
The layoffs are effective May 26.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 2,700 Seattle-area Microsoft workers have been let go.
These cuts follow the trend in the tech sector with other major employers, like Meta, Amazon, and Google, cutting hundreds of jobs,
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced in February that the tech giant would be laying off an additional 9,000 employees after laying off 18,000 this year.
Full-time salaried employees at Microsoft will also not see any pay raises this year as they continue trying to cut costs.
In a statement to Geekwire, Microsoft says it will continue to invest in “employees through promotions, bonus, and stock.”
“As a company, we recognize that navigating both a dynamic economic environment and a major platform shift requires us to make critical decisions in how we invest in our people, our business, and our future,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to GeekWire. “As part of that effort, we are funding our compensation to align with the overall market.”
The tech giant announced last year it was boosting its annual stock-based compensation by at least 25%.
Microsoft on Tuesday reported a 9% increase in profit for the January-March quarter, as growth in cloud computing sales helped bolster its plans to expand its use of artificial intelligence. They posted revenue of $52.9 billion in the period, its third fiscal quarter, up 7% from the same period a year ago.
