Microsoft has cut more than 15,000 jobs so far in 2025, a move that has weighed heavily on CEO Satya Nadella. In a memo to employees, Nadella acknowledged the emotional and operational challenges posed by the layoffs, addressing the concerns many staff members have felt during this difficult period.
The recent job reductions come as part of a broader trend across the tech industry, which has seen over 80,000 positions eliminated this year alone. Microsoft announced about 9,000 layoffs just a week prior to Nadella’s message. While the company employed 228,000 people as of June 2024, it has not yet provided an updated headcount reflecting the recent cuts. Nadella noted, however, that overall staffing levels remain mostly flat.
In his memo, Nadella described the situation as “the enigma of success in an industry that has no franchise value,” emphasizing that progress in technology is rarely straightforward. He wrote, “Progress isn’t linear. It’s dynamic, sometimes dissonant, and always demanding. But it’s also a new opportunity for us to shape, lead through, and have greater impact than ever before.”
The layoffs have affected employee morale, with some expressing disappointment and questioning the alignment between Microsoft’s stated values and its business decisions. One employee on LinkedIn shared that while they still love working at Microsoft, the cutbacks have damaged their loyalty to the company.
Despite these challenges, Microsoft remains one of the most valuable public companies globally, second only to Nvidia, whose graphics chips have become essential to the AI boom. Microsoft’s flagship Windows and Office products continue to dominate the market, while its Azure cloud services have accelerated growth by hosting AI workloads for companies like OpenAI.
Nadella’s memo also focused on Microsoft’s evolving mission amid the rise of artificial intelligence. He stressed the importance of reimagining empowerment in the AI era, shifting from building software for specific tasks to creating tools that enable users to build their own solutions. This transition, he said, moves Microsoft “from a software factory to an intelligence engine empowering every person and organization to build whatever they need to achieve.”
As Microsoft navigates this transformation, Nadella’s message highlights both the difficulty of the current moment and the company’s vision for future innovation driven by AI.
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