Microsoft Lays Off About 4% Employees Amid Massive Investment For AI

JAKARTA - Microsoft Corp announced it will cut nearly 4% of its total workforce. This is done as part of a cost-saving effort amid the company's massive investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.

The giant technology company based in Redmond is recorded to have around 228,000 employees globally as of June 2024. Earlier in May 2025, Microsoft had also laid off about 6,000 workers. According to a Bloomberg report last month, the termination of employment this time mainly targeted the sales division.

Microsoft has previously allocated an investment fund of 80 billion US dollars (approximately Rp1,306 trillion) for capital expenditure in fiscal year 2025. However, very high costs in the development and expansion of AI infrastructure began to put pressure on the company's profit margin. The cloud service margin for the June quarter is expected to decline compared to the previous year.

In a statement on Wednesday, July 2, Microsoft said it would streamline the organizational structure by reducing the number of managers and simplifying products, procedures, and work roles.

News about this layoff was first reported by The Seattle Times. Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reported that Barcelona-based game division King game developer Candy Crush also cut about 10% of its staff, or about 200 people.

Microsoft confirmed to Reuters that the gaming division was indeed affected by these layoffs, although it was not the largest part of the overall layoffs. However, no further details were provided.

Other big tech companies that are also racing in AI development are also doing labor cuts. Meta, Facebook's parent company, previously stated that it would cut about 5% of employees with the lowest performance. Meanwhile, Google, Alphabet's subsidiary, has laid off hundreds of employees over the past year.

Amazon has also cut jobs in its various business segments, including the latest in the book division. Previously, Amazon had cut staff from the division of devices, services, and communications.

Economic uncertainty and increased operating costs have triggered a wave of layoffs in various corporate sectors in the United States, as large companies compete to simplify operations and anticipate ongoing cost pressures.