Microsoft starting 2025 with performance-based job cuts

What’s going on at Microsoft?

Microsoft is reportedly planning to scale back its staffing levels — targeting underperforming employees.

“At Microsoft we focus on high performance talent,” a spokesperson for the tech giant told Business Insider.

“We are always working on helping people learn and grow. When people are not performing, we take the appropriate action.”

Sources claim that the company is looking at all of its departments, including its key security division.

SEE ALSO
• Microsoft trims several teams, separate from performance-based cuts
• Meta planning to cut low-performers in 2025 to ‘raise the bar’
• Wayfair cutting 3% of global workforce, exiting Germany

Impact on Canadian staff

It remains unclear if the workforce reduction at Microsoft will affect Canadian employees.

According to LinkedIn, the company has more than 5,700 workers in the country.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
• Can I be fired after a bad performance review in Ontario?
• What Albertans need to do if they’re fired after a bad performance review
• Fired after a bad performance review in B.C.: Employee rights

Next steps for Microsoft employees

If you’re fired or let go at Microsoft, understanding your legal rights is crucial.

Non-unionized employees in Canada’s tech industry are entitled to severance pay based on a variety of factors, including their role, tenure, age, and ability to find similar work.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Compensation: Severance packages, which can be as much as 24 months’ pay, may include salary, bonuses, commissions, and other forms of compensation. Use our firm’s free Severance Pay Calculator to better understand your entitlements.
• Deadlines: You generally have up to two years from the date of your termination to review and negotiate severance offers.
• Action steps: Consult an employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP to ensure your severance package is fair and aligns with Canadian employment laws.

New year, more job cuts

The workforce reduction at Microsoft comes after many major employers scaled back their staffing levels in 2024.

Big names, including Google, RBC, Cargill, Vale, Windsor University, Mohawk College, Sheridan College, Marriott, Rogers, General Motors, and AMD, pulled out the axe last year.

SEE ALSO
• Salesforce to cut jobs at ‘Own’ following $2-billion acquisition
• Amazon Layoffs: Nearly 14,000 managers could be axed to cut costs
• Where are layoffs happening in Canada?
• Pocket Employment Lawyer: Real-time insights on your rights

Lost your job? Contact us

If you’re fired or let go at Microsoft for any reason, the experienced employment law team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP can help.

Our lawyers in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia have helped tens of thousands of non-unionized individuals resolve their workplace issues.

Call us today at 1-855-821-5900 or request a consultation online.

Disclaimer: The materials above are provided as general information about the rights of non-unionized employees in Canada. It is not specific to any one company and SHOULD NOT be read as suggesting any improper conduct on the part of any specific employer, or a relationship between Samfiru Tumarkin LLP and a specific employer.