According to UK broadcaster Sky News, citing sources, Microsoft is considering cutting around 5% of its workforce, equating to about 11,000 roles within the company.

Additionally, a Bloomberg report states that the company also plans to reduce the number of engineering divisions in new rounds of layoffs.

These job cuts by Microsoft puts it in line with other major technology companies who have also announced layoffs in reaction to decreasing demand and a deteriorating economy.

In October, it was reported that Microsoft had laid off a relatively small number of employees across multiple divisions, representing less than 1% of the company’s total workforce of over 200,000. In July, the company had stated that a small number of positions had been eliminated, but that it would be increasing its overall headcount in the future.

As of June 30th, according to official filings, Microsoft employed 221,000 full-time employees, with 122,000 of those located in the United States and the remaining 99,000 located internationally. According to Reuters, the company is facing pressure to maintain growth rates for its cloud unit Azure, as a decline in the personal computer market has negatively impacted sales of Windows and devices.

Also Read : Layoffs at Amazon, Twitter, Ola, and more: 91 tech companies fired over 24,000 employees in 2023

Microsoft is set to report quarterly results on 24 January.

The start of the new year has been tough for many tech workers globally as layoffs have become more common. In just the first week of 2023, more than 30,000 people have lost their jobs worldwide. This number is nearly double the total number of layoffs that occurred throughout December 2022. According to data from Layoffs Tracker, 30,611 people from 30 companies were let go in the first six days of January. Alongside Amazon, companies such as Vimeo, Salesforce, and Huobi have also laid off employees.

A large part of the overall layoffs statistic is due to Amazon’s decision to cut over 18,000 roles as part of a reduction in its workforce. The company, owned by Jeff Bezos, has now exceeded the 11,000 job cuts announced last year by Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook.

In November, Meta announced the loss of 11,000 jobs, which represents about 13% of its workforce.

In August, Snapchat laid off around 20% of its employees, or about 1,200 people.

In January, IT group Salesforce announced it would be cutting around 10% of its workforce, which is just under 8,000 people.

In October, billionaire Elon Musk acquired Twitter, and soon after, he let go of around half of the social media platform’s 7,500 employees.