Microsoft cutting 10,000 jobs as tech layoffs mount

Just months after laying off nearly 1,000 employees, Microsoft has announced deeper job cuts.

In a memo to staff on Jan. 18, CEO Satya Nadella said the tech giant is eliminating 10,000 positions, or less than five per cent of its total workforce, as the company aligns “our cost structure with our revenue and where we see customer demand.”

“These are the kinds of hard choices we have made throughout our 47-year history to remain a consequential company in this industry that is unforgiving to anyone who doesn’t adapt to platform shifts,” Nadella said.

“As such, we are taking a $1.2 billion charge in [the second quarter] related to severance costs, changes to our hardware portfolio, and the cost of lease consolidation as we create higher density across our workspaces.”

News outlets, including The Verge, claim that the layoffs should be completed by the end of March.

According to reports, Microsoft currently employs a global workforce of more than 221,000 people.

Canadian impact

Microsoft didn’t disclose how many Canadian employees are affected by the latest round of cuts.

However, Nadella noted that the tech giant will provide support to impacted staff inside and outside the U.S.

Major tech layoffs continue

Microsoft isn’t the only major North American tech company kicking off 2023 with mass layoffs.

Thinkific, Cloud Software Group, Amazon, and Salesforce are significantly scaling back their staffing levels as they continue to monitor market conditions.

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Termination agreements for Microsoft employees

As part of the layoff announcement, Microsoft said it will provide “U.S.-benefit-eligible employees” who are affected with:

• Above-market severance pay
• 60 days’ notice prior to termination (regardless of whether such notice is legally required)
• Health care coverage for six months
• Continued vesting of stock awards for six months
• Career transition services

The tech giant added that benefits for impacted staff outside of the U.S. will “align with the employment laws in each country.”

In Canada, non-unionized employees and senior executives at Microsoft are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing or corporate restructuring.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Severance for technology industry employees
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance packages in mass layoffs

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains why you are still owed severance if you have been downsized on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper compensation if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you aren’t given the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.