The layoffs could mean upward of 9,000 employees being let go based on the tech giant’s employee count from the end of the prior fiscal year.
Microsoft has confirmed plans to cut less than 4 percent of its total workforce, which could mean upward of 9,000 employees being let go based on the tech giant’s employee count from the end of the prior fiscal year.
The Redmond, Wash.-based vendor started its 2026 fiscal year Tuesday and had been laying off thousands of employees in the final weeks of its 2025 fiscal year, with reports of a 3 percent employee reduction from May.
“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft spokesperson told CRN in an email Wednesday.
[RELATED: Microsoft Layoffs To Hit 9,000 Employees, Including Salespeople: Report]
Microsoft Layoffs
Posts on Wednesday by users of Microsoft-owned LinkedIn showed that the cuts hit multiple employees in the tech giant’s Xbox gaming division, employees who worked with state and local governments and employees involved in customer success account management (CSAM).
Employees who were let go ranged from working with the vendor for about a year to spending more than 13 years with Microsoft, according to posts reviewed by CRN.
For solution providers, jobs vendors cut-in house could mean that work gets pushed to the channel. On the other hand, it could mean less resources for partners that specialize in the affected part of the vendor’s portfolio.
Microsoft Layoffs From May, June Cut Across Software Engineers, Product Managers, Windows, Copilot, Azure
CRN reviewed posts by dozens of employees on Microsoft-owned social media network LinkedIn in May and June to see what parts of the tech giant were affected by cuts as the fiscal year came to a close. The cuts spanned software engineers, product managers and workers related to the tech giant’s flagship Windows, Copilot and Azure offers. Some of the employees had worked with Microsoft for more than 20 years.
On June 2, Microsoft told Washington state it expects to lay off about 300 locals starting Aug. 1, according to records. GeekWire reported that software engineers were about 22 percent of the cut roles—followed by product management, technical program management and product marketing, each representing 10-plus percent of the cuts.
On May 13, Microsoft told the state that about 2,000 employees would get laid off starting July 12. Software engineers made up more than 40 percent of those cuts, according to Bloomberg. Product managers were about 20 percent, followed by technical program management at about 11 percent.
AI and Azure-related roles cut in May and June, as shown by LinkedIn posts, include:
- A level two data and applied scientist with Azure Edge + Platform and who worked with Microsoft for about six years
- A level two product manager who worked on working on silicon bring-up in Azure who was with Microsoft for about six years
- A principal software engineer who worked on Java-related projects for GitHub and Azure and was with Microsoft for about three years
- A senior product manager who worked on Azure incident resolution tools and was with Microsoft for about three years
Roles related to Microsoft 365 that have been cut in May and June include:
- A senior program manager who led global programs focused on improving first-time customer experience and adoption for Microsoft 365 services including Microsoft Intune, Office 365, ClipChamp, New Outlook, and SharePoint Online who was with Microsoft for about 19 years
- A product manager working in the in-application help sector for Microsoft 365 products who was with the vendor about two years
- A software engineer who worked on Copilot integration and was with Microsoft for about five years
- A technical program manager for the Copilot prompt gallery who was with Microsoft about 21 years
Windows-related employees caught up in the reduction in May and June include:
- A principal software engineering manager in the Windows Servicing and Delivery division who was with Microsoft for more than 20 years
- A Windows program manager with Microsoft for about 17 years
- A principal group product manager who led product strategy and execution for Windows Developer Experiences and was with Microsoft for about seven years
- A senior product manager who directed end‑to‑end management of an AI-driven incident detection platform across Microsoft 365, Azure, Dynamics and Windows and was with Microsoft for about four years
