Microsoft is cutting roughly 3% of its global workforce as the company shifts more resources toward the race to develop advanced artificial intelligence, the company confirmed on Tuesday.

Microsoft began laying off about 6,000 workers Tuesday, nearly 3% of its entire workforce and its largest job cuts in more than two years as the company spends heavily on artificial intelligence.

Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, said the layoffs will be across all levels and geographies but the cuts will focus on reducing the number of managers.

Explore Microsoft's strategic 2025 layoffs affecting 6,000 employees while investing $80B in AI. Learn how this reshapes the tech industry, impacts jobs, and signals a broader shift in workforce dynamics.

It’s a cynic’s dream. AI layoffs have started decimating Big Tech workforces. This is all supposedly in the name of focusing on AI. Microsoft has the dubious honor of making most of the headlines, removing 3% of its global workforce. Simultaneously, the company is streamlining to focus more on AI development and remain competitive.

The layoffs, which affect thousands of employees, come soon after the tech titan issued an optimistic financial forecast.

The move follows a smaller round of performance-based layoffs in January and marks a shift from the aggressive hiring of the pandemic years.

Microsoft on Tuesday began laying off nearly 3 percent of its total workforce — or about 6,000 employees. “We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company

On Tuesday, Microsoft confirmed a CNBC report that it will be laying off three percent of its workforce. Given that the tech giant had around 228,000 employees as of June 2024 (per the news outlet), that amounts to roughly 6,