<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Microsoft says it is laying off about 9000 workers, its second mass layoff in months and its largest in more than two years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The tech giant began sending out layoff notices today that hit the company's Xbox video game business and other divisions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Among those losing their jobs are 830 workers tied to Microsoft's US headquarters in Redmond, Washington, according to a notice sent to state officials.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/diddy-update-sean-combs-found-not-guilty-on-most-serious-charges-in-sex-trafficking-trial/05f4fcdf-86cf-4d76-91d1-3090cb7da44c" target="_blank"><strong><span>Sean 'Diddy' Combs is denied bail after mixed verdict clears him of top charges in sex crimes case</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>9news.com.au contacted Microsoft Australia to ask how many Australian workers the lay-offs would impact.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was unable to provide a number but issued a statement saying the company would continue to "implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Microsoft said the cuts will affect multiple teams around the world, including its sales division, part of the "organisational changes".</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/microsoft-tech-giant-lays-off-4-per-cent-of-global-workforce-impacting-thousands-of-jobs/89fa0663-9b6a-405e-a3c8-308bb9d34d87" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The company won't say the total number of layoffs except that it was about 4 per cent of the workforce it had a year ago.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A memo to gaming division employees today from Xbox CEO Phil Spencer said the cuts would position the video game business "for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Xbox would "follow Microsoft's lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness," Spencer wrote.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Microsoft employed 228,000 full-time workers as of June 2024, the last time it reported its annual headcount.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Its latest layoffs would cut fewer than 4 per cent of that workforce, according to Microsoft.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/truck-fire-western-sydney-m7-motorway/36f65ea8-f803-40fc-9034-32602f0bf204" target="_blank"><strong><span>Burning truck shuts down major Sydney motorway</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But it has already had at least three layoffs this year and it's unlikely that new hiring has matched the amount lost.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Either way, a 4 per cent cut would amount to somewhere in the range of 9000 people.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Until now, this year's biggest layoff was in May, when Microsoft began laying off about 6000 workers, nearly 3 per cent of its global workforce and its largest job cuts in more than two years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The cutbacks come as Microsoft continues to invest huge amounts of money in the data centres, specialised computer chips and other infrastructure needed to advance its AI ambitions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The company anticipated those expenses would cost it about $US80 billion ($121 billion) in the last fiscal year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Its new fiscal year began on Tuesday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Microsoft just last month cut another 300 workers based out of its Redmond headquarters, on top of nearly 2000 who lost their jobs in the Puget Sound region in May, most of them in software engineering and product management roles, according to information it sent to Washington state employment officials.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/dalai-lama-vows-he-wont-be-last-leader-of-tibetan-buddhism/97734394-711d-4309-ae7d-b7581fd6bdc9" target="_blank"><strong><span>Dalai Lama vows he won't be last leader of Tibetan Buddhism</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Microsoft's chief financial officer Amy Hood said on an April earnings call that the company was focused on "building high-performing teams and increasing our agility by reducing layers with fewer managers".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The company has repeatedly characterised its recent layoffs as part of a push to trim management layers, but the May focus on cutting software engineering jobs has fueled worries about how the company's own AI code-writing products could reduce the number of people needed for programming work.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said earlier this year that "maybe 20, 30 per cent of the code" for some of Microsoft's coding projects "are probably all written by software".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The latest layoffs, however, seemed centred on slower-growing areas of the company's business, said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They're focused more and more on AI, cloud and next-generation Microsoft and really looking to cut costs around Xbox and some of the more legacy areas," Ives said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think they overhired over the years. This is Nadella and team making sure that they're keeping with efficiency and that's the name of the game in Wall Street."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/qantas-cyber-attack-im-a-qantas-customer-what-should-i-do-now/e9451c54-4dd8-4536-8d74-d2f473fb6ebc" target="_blank"><strong><span>What Qantas customers should do next following the cyberattack</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The trimming of the Xbox staff follows Microsoft's years-long expansion of the business surrounding its gaming console, culminating in 2023 with the $US75.4 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard — the California-based maker of hit franchises like Call of Duty and Candy Crush.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Before that, in a bid to compete with Sony's PlayStation, it spent $US7.5 billion to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Maryland-based video game publisher Bethesda Softworks.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Many of those game studios, which have locations across North America and Europe, were struggling with the layoffs, according to social media posts from employees who announced they were looking for new jobs.</span></div></div>