Behind Microsoft Layoffs, Automation Efforts Boom

Jeff Hulse, a Microsoft vice president who oversees roughly 400 software engineers, told the team in recent months to use the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot, powered by OpenAI, to generate half the computer code they write, according to a person who heard the remarks. That would represent an increase from the 20% to 30% of code AI currently produces at the company, and shows how rapidly Microsoft is moving to incorporate such technology.

Then on Tuesday, Microsoft laid off more than a dozen engineers on Hulse’s team as part of a broader layoff of 6,000 people across the company that appeared to hit engineers harder than other types of roles, this person said.