Microsoft Laid Off Several Thousands of Workers (Not Counting Those Driven Out) in 3+ Waves of Layoffs in 2 Months in 2025
About a thousand workers laid off per month
The net loss of staff (headcount, apples compared to apples) cannot forever be hidden, as it tends to be spun by Microsoft-sponsored publishers several times per year [1, 2, 3, 4].
A new report behind a paywall ("Country club no more: Inside Microsoft's move to cull staff on performance") says:
In 2023, a Microsoft employee asked to take on a lighter workload when his wife was found to have terminal cancer.His managers were supportive, and they appeared happy with his performance during his wife's illness as recently as late 2024, when they told him to expect 120% of his bonus.
Then, on January 22, the employee said, an HR representative unexpectedly joined his weekly manager meeting. The employee was fired without severance and was told his health insurance would expire that night.
The employee's wife had to skip chemotherapy treatments for a month after.
According to this same report, "Microsoft has axed almost 2,000 workers so far this year". To quote Qz.com (Quartz):
The cuts affect only a small percentage of Microsoft’s overall workforce, which, according to the company’s most recent annual report, is around 228,000. However, employees at the company are still feeling the impact.Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw told Business Insider that the company is trying to give managers more tools to make expectations clear.
Frank Shaw is a liar. We did a series about Frank Shaw several years ago. He's colluding with a Microsoft-bribed publisher [1, 2] that burns Microsoft whistleblowers and keeps spreading lies about "headcount" at Microsoft.
Why does anyone take any word from Frank Shaw at face value? Lying is his profession. He was trained to do this. █