Microsoft to lay off 3% of global workforce — roughly 7K jobs

Core Viewpoint - Microsoft is cutting approximately 3% of its global workforce, equating to around 7,000 jobs, to reallocate resources towards the development of advanced artificial intelligence [1][5]. Group 1: Workforce Reduction - The layoffs are part of a strategy to streamline management layers within the company [4]. - This marks the most significant job cuts since January 2023, when Microsoft laid off 10,000 employees [5]. - Microsoft had a total of 228,000 employees as of last June [1][8]. Group 2: Financial Context - Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $70.07 billion, surpassing Wall Street expectations, just days before announcing the layoffs [4]. - The company plans to invest up to$ 80 billion in AI-related efforts in fiscal year 2025 [7]. Group 3: Industry Competition - Microsoft is competing with other tech giants like Elon Musk's xAI, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, and Google in the AI development space [7]. - Analyst Gil Luria indicated that to offset the high costs associated with AI development, Microsoft may need to reduce its workforce by at least 10,000 annually [8].