Microsoft is reportedly undergoing a round of layoffs within its Azure cloud business, impacting hundreds of employees, according to sources familiar with the situation. The job cuts are said to affect teams such as Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering.
One source mentioned that the Azure for Operators division alone could see up to 1,500 job reductions. These sources, who preferred to remain anonymous while discussing internal matters, highlighted that the affected teams are part of the Strategic Missions and Technologies (SMT) organization, which was established in 2021 to house Microsoft’s ambitious projects, including quantum computing, space initiatives, and government cloud services.
The layoffs come amidst Microsoft’s growing success in generative AI, particularly through its partnership with OpenAI. Despite the company’s usual practice of minor layoffs during the transition to a new fiscal year post-June 30, recent years have seen an increase in job cuts at Microsoft and across the tech industry.
Microsoft had previously announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs in early 2023 and has since carried out additional rounds of layoffs. As of now, Microsoft has not responded to requests for comments regarding the recent layoffs in its Azure business.
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