Microsoft to cut up to 9,000 jobs as it invests in AI

Microsoft has confirmed that it will lay-off as many as 9,000 workers, in the tech giant’s latest wave of job cuts this year.

The company said several divisions would be affected without specifying which ones but reports suggest that its Xbox video gaming unit will be hit.

Microsoft has set out plans to invest heavily in artificial intelligence (AI), and is spending $80bn (£68.6bn) in huge datacenters to train AI models

A spokesperson for the firm told the BBC: “We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace.”

The cuts would equate to 4% of Microsoft’s 228,000 global workforce.

It has initiated three other rounds of redundancies so far in 2025, including in May when it said it would axe 6,000 roles.

A database maintained by the Washington state shows more than 800 of the positions eliminated will be concentrated in Redmond as well as in Bellevue, another hub that Microsoft maintains in its home state.

In recent years, along with its counterparts in Big Tech, Microsoft has pivoted its attention towards the develop of AI, including investing in datacentres and chips.

Last year, the firm hired British AI pioneer Mustafa Suleyman to lead its new Microsoft AI division.

A top Microsoft executive recently told the BBC that the next half century will “fundamentally be defined by artificial intelligence,” changing the way we work and interact with one another.

Microsoft is also a major investor and shareholder in OpenAI, the company behind the popular chatbot ChatGPT, although the relationship has reportedly grown tense in recent months.