Irish jobs to be cut as part of Microsoft's latest round of global layoffs

The tech giant has notified the Department of Enterprise of collective redundancies across its Irish operations

The company is required under Irish law to notify the Department of Enterprise of any significant job losses impacting its Irish operations.

Microsoft has said it will lay off 9,000 people as part of the company's latest round of job cuts as the tech giant looks to rein in costs amid hefty investments in AI infrastructure.

The company employs around 228,000 people worldwide as of June 2024, with the latest round affecting almost 4% of its global headcount.

The Department of Enterprise confirmed that it had received a collective redundancy notification from Microsoft on Wednesday. The tech giant is required under Irish law to notify the Department of any job losses impacting more than 30 Irish staff in 30 days.

Microsoft has a significant presence in Ireland, employing more than 3,500 people, with its subsidiary LinkedIn employing a further 2,000 workers. If applied uniformly, the cuts could result in around 200 Irish jobs being impacted. 

A spokesperson for Microsoft told the Irish Examiner: “We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace."

The Windows maker had pledged $80bn in capital spending for its 2025 fiscal year. However, the soaring cost of scaling its AI infrastructure has weighed on margins, with its June quarter cloud margin expected to shrink from last year.

Microsoft said on Wednesday that it planned to reduce organisational layers with fewer managers, as well as streamline its products, procedures and roles.

The Seattle Times first reported on the layoffs earlier on Wednesday. 

Separately, Bloomberg News reported Microsoft's Barcelona-based King division, which makes the Candy Crush video game, is cutting 10% of its staff, or about 200 jobs.

In 2023, Microsoft cut some 250 Irish jobs across a series of layoffs as the company tried to offset a slump in demand which previously skyrocketed during the covid pandemic.

Big Tech peers, which are investing heavily in artificial intelligence, have also announced job cuts. Facebook parent Meta earlier this year said it would trim about 5% of its "lowest performers", while Alphabet's Google has also laid off hundreds of employees in the past year.

Amazon has also cut jobs across its business segments, most recently in its books division. The company had earlier laid off employees in its devices and services unit and communications staff.

Economic uncertainties and rising costs have triggered layoffs across sectors in Corporate America, as companies rush to streamline operations and hedge against further cost pressures.

Additional reporting from Reuters.