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On Microsoft layoffs, Nadella says, ‘These decisions are among the most difficult we have to make. They affect people we’ve worked with, learned from, and shared moments with.’
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. (File Photo)
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has addressed the company’s recent layoffs — impacting over 9,000 employees — with a candid message to staff, acknowledging the emotional toll while justifying the decision as a necessary step in the company’s AI-led transformation.
“Before anything else, I want to speak to what’s been weighing heavily on me, and what I know many of you are thinking about: the recent job eliminations,” Nadella wrote in a memo to Microsoft’s more than 200,000 employees. “These decisions are among the most difficult we have to make. They affect people we’ve worked alongside, learned from, and shared countless moments with – our colleagues, teammates, and friends.”
The job cuts, which account for roughly 7% of Microsoft’s global workforce, mark the company’s largest round of layoffs since 2014. They come at a time when Microsoft is thriving financially — its stock has surged over 21% this year, reaching record highs above $500 per share, and it has posted $75 billion in net income over the past three fiscal quarters.
Nadella addressed what he described as the “uncertainty and seeming incongruence” of letting employees go during a period of strong financial performance. “By every objective measure, Microsoft is thriving – our market performance, strategic positioning, and growth all point up and to the right,” he noted. “We’re investing more in capex than ever before. Our overall headcount is relatively unchanged, and some of the talent and expertise in our industry and at Microsoft is being recognised and rewarded at levels never seen before. And yet, at the same time, we’ve undergone layoffs.”
The restructuring is part of Microsoft’s broader strategic shift from being a “software factory to an intelligence engine”, as the company doubles down on artificial intelligence. Nadella revealed Microsoft is investing $80 billion into AI infrastructure, aiming to build tools that would allow “all 8 billion people [to] summon a researcher, an analyst, or a coding agent at their fingertips”.
“As we begin a new fiscal year, I’ve been reflecting on the road we’ve travelled together and the path ahead,” he wrote, placing the workforce changes within the context of a larger industry shift toward automation and AI. The tech industry has seen more than 80,000 job losses in 2025 alone as companies across the board reshape operations around intelligent systems.
While Nadella expressed “sincere gratitude to those who have left”, acknowledging that their contributions “have shaped who we are as a company”, he offered no assurances that further layoffs would be avoided. Instead, he urged the remaining employees to adopt a “growth mindset” amid what he described as the “messiness” of transformation.
A team of writers and reporters decodes vast terms of personal finance and making money matters simpler for you. From latest initial public offerings (IPOs) in the market to best investment options, we cover al…Read More
A team of writers and reporters decodes vast terms of personal finance and making money matters simpler for you. From latest initial public offerings (IPOs) in the market to best investment options, we cover al… Read More
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