Microsoft announced on May 13, 2025, that it would eliminate about 6,000 positions worldwide—less than 3% of its workforce. The cuts spanned business areas and locations, including LinkedIn, and Microsoft said it aimed to reduce management layers. The headline figure is an approximation, not an exact 3% reduction. The May announcement is historical: Microsoft announced further workforce reductions in July 2025 and July 2026.
What Microsoft announced in May 2025
On May 13, 2025, Microsoft said it planned to eliminate approximately 6,000 positions across business units, geographies, and employee levels. LinkedIn was included. The company described the cuts as less than 3% of its workforce and tied the restructuring to reducing management layers. Bloomberg reported the announcement and its stated rationale; the Associated Press described the scope and regional effects.
“Companywide” does not mean every department lost the same share of staff. Reports identified effects in product and engineering, Xbox and gaming-related operations, LinkedIn, sales, support, and other functions, but Microsoft did not publish a complete division-by-division breakdown for this round. The aim of reducing management layers also does not establish that only managers were affected; reporting described cuts across employee levels.
Why Microsoft made the cuts
Microsoft’s stated reason was organizational efficiency: reducing management layers. The company was also investing heavily in cloud computing and artificial intelligence, which formed part of the broader business context. That context does not prove that AI directly replaced each person whose position was eliminated.
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Layoffs can occur alongside strong business performance. They may reflect changes in priorities, structure, or where a company allocates resources rather than a collapse in demand. In a July 2025 message, CEO Satya Nadella said Microsoft’s overall headcount was “relatively unchanged” despite reductions, illustrating how job cuts can coincide with hiring or redeployment elsewhere. Nadella’s July 24, 2025 message also addressed the tension between business performance, investment, and workforce changes.
What “3%” means in numbers
Microsoft’s annual filing reported approximately 228,000 full-time employees as of June 30, 2025. That date is after the May announcement, so it is a useful scale comparison—not a confirmed headcount for the day the cuts were announced. Three percent of 228,000 is 6,840; approximately 6,000 positions would equal about 2.63% of that later-reported workforce.
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| Figure | What it represents |
|---|---|
| About 6,000 | Positions Microsoft planned to eliminate in the May 2025 round, according to Bloomberg’s May 13 report. |
| Less than 3% | Microsoft’s description of the May reduction as a share of its workforce, reported by Bloomberg. |
| 228,000 | Microsoft full-time employees as of June 30, 2025, according to its FY2025 Form 10-K. |
| About 2.63% | Approximate calculation of 6,000 divided by 228,000; it compares the reported May reduction with a workforce figure from June 30, 2025, not a verified May headcount. |
Microsoft’s filing also reported 125,000 employees in the United States and 103,000 internationally as of June 30, 2025. It listed 80,000 in product research and development, 89,000 in operations, 44,000 in sales and marketing, and 15,000 in general and administration. These are companywide workforce counts, not a breakdown of the May layoffs. The figures appear in the Form 10-K and the FY2025 annual report.
Regional impact in Washington state
The Associated Press reported that Microsoft notified Washington state that approximately 1,985 employees connected to the Redmond area would be affected, including about 1,500 in-person workers and 475 remote workers. That is a regional figure, not the worldwide total. AP’s report provides the state-level context.
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How the May announcement fits Microsoft’s layoff timeline
| Date | Reported reduction | Context |
|---|---|---|
| January 2025 | Less than 1% of employees, according to reporting | A separate, smaller performance-related reduction; it was not the May restructuring. Investing.com’s report distinguishes the May cuts from performance-based reductions. |
| May 13, 2025 | About 6,000 positions; less than 3% | The companywide management-layer restructuring covered in this article. |
| July 2, 2025 | About 9,000 employees; less than 4% | A separate subsequent round, reported by CNBC, with significant effects reported in Xbox, sales, and other divisions. These cuts should not be added to or confused with the May announcement. |
| July 6, 2026 | About 4,800 roles; approximately 2.1% of the global workforce | A later reduction announced by Microsoft. Microsoft’s official announcement identifies this as a separate event. |
Microsoft’s 2023 reduction of approximately 10,000 positions—close to 5% of its workforce at the time—was larger than the May 2025 round, according to the Associated Press. The May cuts were described as Microsoft’s largest reduction in more than two years at the time, not as its largest-ever.
What affected employees should check
There is no single publicly established severance or benefits package for everyone affected by the May cuts. Severance, benefits continuation, equity treatment, immigration support, and internal-transfer options can depend on location, employment status, and individual terms. Employees should use their own notice and applicable local employment rules for decisions; general reports and social-media accounts cannot establish an individual package.
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Current status: the May cuts are not the latest round
As of August 18, 2026, the May 2025 announcement is a past event. Microsoft’s latest official workforce-reduction announcement identified here was on July 6, 2026: approximately 4,800 role eliminations, or about 2.1% of its global workforce. Microsoft’s July 2026 announcement is the source for that later figure.
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- Power that lasts all day – With 20 hours of battery life[3], the new Surface Laptop powers through your entire day, so you can create, work and stream from morning to night without reaching for a charger.
- Work at the speed of your ideas – Built with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite (12 Core) processors, Surface Laptop delivers fast, AI‑accelerated performance—making it the most powerful Surface laptop for everything from multitasking to demanding workloads.
- The ports you need – Charge on-the-go, transfer data fast, or create the ultimate desktop set up with two USB-C / USB4[4] ports.
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