Microsoft has 228,000 employees worldwide and has made the decision to layoff 3% of its employees, which is around 6000 of them.
This structural shift in Microsoft is to align with their ambition of investing more AI technology within their company after investing a whopping $80 billion into AI infrastructure.
The 3% layoff is supposed to save Microsoft around $2.2 billion this year and $2.9 billion annually thereafter.
Employees who were laid off were furious as Microsoft reported a ‘better than expected’ $25.8 billion in their quarterly net income.
A TikTok user, TimmyTechTV shared their frustration for being laid off after working at Microsoft for 22 years.
According to The Economic Times, Microsoft laid off their employees not only because of AI, but because of its employees’ skill mismatches, limited availability of roles and most importantly cost.
This lay off also affected its higher position employees like their AI Director, Gabriela de Queiroz.
She went on to X (formally known as Twitter) to write about her situation.
“Am I sad? Absolutely. I’m heartbroken to see so many talented people I’ve had the honor of working with being let go. These are people who cared deeply, went above and beyond, and truly made a difference.” She wrote in one of her latest posts.
Gabriella tried to think positive. “But if you know me, you know I always look at the bright side. I’m an optimist at heart. That hasn’t changed. My smile, my gratitude, my believe that each day is a gift – that’s all still here.”
She continued in the thread, “What’s next? I don’t know yet. It’s too soon to say. But I trust that something good will come out of this.”
Many people offered their sympathy to Grabriela and other employees that were affected.
Users also praised Grabriela for maintaining a positive outlook despite the negative circumstances.
But many others are worried that if an AI Director is also affected, what does it mean for other employees of lower positions?
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