Microsoft Prepares to Lay Off Thousands of Employees, Including in Azure-Related Units

Microsoft is preparing to lay off thousands of staff in multiple divisions starting as soon as Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Wednesday update: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company will lay off 10,000 people in the coming months, or roughly 4.5% of the workforce, and take a $1.2 billion charge for costs related to the move. In a public post that was also sent to employees, Nadella said the company had to adapt to its customers’ increasingly cautious spending.

The new cuts are expected to affect much of the company, including software engineering teams as well as teams within a group led by executive Omar Abbosh that help Microsoft’s sales teams pitch customers on Azure cloud services, this person said. Teams that don’t generate revenue or whose roles don’t carry specific sales quotas are especially vulnerable, the person said. Some of the roles Microsoft is eliminating are expected to be outsourced to consultants that work with the company.