In a recent company-wide town hall meeting, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella addressed the organization's decision to lay off approximately 6,000 employees, constituting nearly 3% of its global workforce. Nadella emphasized that these layoffs were part of a broader internal restructuring aimed at aligning teams with Microsoft's evolving priorities, particularly its increasing focus on artificial intelligence (AI). He acknowledged the emotional impact of the decision but underscored that it was driven by strategic shifts rather than employee performance issues.
The layoffs have notably affected engineering roles, a development that challenges the traditional perception of these positions as secure. This move reflects a broader trend in the tech industry, where even product development teams are being reshaped amid the accelerating integration of AI technologies.
During the same internal event, executives highlighted Microsoft's substantial momentum in promoting AI tools to corporate clients. Chief Business Officer Judson Althoff revealed that British banking giant Barclays has committed to purchasing 100,000 licenses for Microsoft Copilot, the company's flagship AI assistant. Althoff also noted that several major global firms, including Accenture, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Siemens, each have over 100,000 users of Copilot within their organizations.
Nadella stressed the importance of monitoring how deeply Copilot is embedded across customer operations, with Microsoft paying close attention to the percentage of users actively engaging with the tool. At a list price of $30 per user per month, the scale of these contracts suggests annual revenues in the tens of millions of dollars, although actual figures are likely reduced by bulk pricing agreements.
These developments mirror Microsoft's pivot toward enterprise AI as a key growth area, while the company trims its personnel to maintain efficiency and focus.
Source: indiaherald.com What CEO Satya Nadella Told Employees At The Town Hall About The Layoffs That Left 6,000 Jobless
