TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

Microsoft Joins Tech Layoff Circus With 10,000 Jobs Cut in Pivot to AI

The company said it plans to hire “in strategic areas,” focusing on artificial intelligence.

Microsoft is planning to lay off 10,000 workers through March, joining a slew of tech companies in cutting down after a pandemic hiring boom, The New York Times reports. The company’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, said Microsoft plans to continue hiring “in strategic areas,” pivoting to focus on artificial intelligence and other growing areas. Microsoft recently invested an additional $10 billion in OpenAI, which makes the ChatGPT AI system, alongside buying Activision for $69 billion. The layoffs continue a rough tech trend, following Amazon’s plan to cut roughly 18,000 jobs, Salesforce firing 10 percent of its staff, and Meta laying off 11,000 employees.