Microsoft to announce job cuts as soon as today, sources say

Global layoffs could total thousands as Alphabet and Amazon also cut jobs this week<br><br>Microsoft is planning to lay off thousands of workers in a major round of job cuts intended to help the technology company cope with a downturn in personal computer sales and a broader slowdown in spending on technology. <br><br>The company could announce the cuts on Wednesday, according to four people briefed on the plans, which would bring the total number of tech jobs cut in the past year to more than 200,000.<br><br>Reductions could affect around 5pc of Microsoft’s workforce of around 180,000 staff, or around 9,000 people. The company has been hiring aggressively in recent years, but new recruits are expected to bear the brunt of the cuts.<br><br>Microsoft is the latest major technology company to cut jobs in what is turning into a brutal round of layoffs across the industry. Google parent Alphabet announced 12,000 redundancies on Friday and Amazon said it would cut 18,000 jobs. <br><br>CEO Satya Nadella warned last year that the boom in technology spending during the pandemic had been “unusual” and that the industry would have to adjust to more normal conditions. <br><br>The cuts at Microsoft are expected to focus on the divisions that work on the company’s cloud computing services and its applications including Office, which are increasingly at the core of the business.<br><br>US tech companies are facing a slowdown in demand as corporations cut back on spending in response to recession concerns, with consumers also tightening their belts in anticipation of an economic downturn. <br><br>The deep cuts announced by Amazon and Alphabet raised concerns that the redundancies could be even more brutal than expected. <br><br>Microsoft’s PC business has also been hit by declining sales, which have fallen by over a third in the past year as consumers and businesses rein in spending on laptops. <br><br>Alongside the job cuts, the company is expected to close some offices and could also announce plans to reduce working hours of some contractors. <br><br>Microsoft’s share price rose just under 2pc by lunchtime on Tuesday as investors welcomed the plans to cut costs.