Intel Lays Off 20% of Its Workforce, Microsoft is Doing the Same This Year
The above article aged well. So far the predictions and estimates made based on the leaks have turned out to be true, including the exact dates. July 2 (this week) will be the next wave and some say August might bring another. Many workers leave voluntarily (after pressure) and aren't being counted. Temps that are onboarded (without rights, no obligations for Microsoft) help game the "headcount" figures.
Microsoft is sinking in debt. It's a bleeding wound. As we put it the other month, based on the official numbers: Microsoft's Debt Grew 2.1 Billion Dollars in the Past 3 Months Alone or 8.2 Billion in the Past Half a Year.
Firing about 30,000 Microsoft employees can 'save' the company about 3 billion dollars per year, but if the debt climbs at a pace of over 16 billion per year, then that won't be enough. To "break even" Microsoft will need to maybe sack half of all workers (maybe more).
Nadella rode a "pyramid scheme" by faking inertia, buying worthless companies that lose money (e.g. GitHub, whose destiny will be the same as Skype's), and hiring many people only to fake growth and pump up the stock. Like a yoyo, whatever goes up will come back down. █
"Microsoft, the world’s most valuable company, declared a profit of $4.5 billion in 1998; when the cost of options awarded that year, plus the change in the value of outstanding options, is deducted, the firm made a loss of $18 billion, according to Smithers."