Microsoft to cut thousands of sales jobs in renewed restructuring drive
Layoffs follow 7,000 cuts in May and a shift toward external SMB sales partners.
Microsoft is planning another round of job cuts, expected to affect thousands of employees, with a primary focus on its global sales organization, according to a Bloomberg report published Wednesday.
Sources familiar with the matter said the company is expected to formally announce the layoffs in early July, coinciding with the end of its fiscal year. The exact timing remains fluid, and the cuts are not expected to target only sales roles. As of June 2024, Microsoft employed approximately 228,000 people worldwide, including 45,000 in sales and marketing.
This expected wave follows a round of 7,000 layoffs in May, which largely affected product development and engineering teams. In April, Microsoft notified employees that it was increasingly relying on external firms to handle a greater share of software sales to small and mid-sized businesses.
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Microsoft has a significant sales presence in Israel, but it is not yet clear whether the local team will be impacted by the new cuts. In the May layoffs, several dozen employees were let go in Israel, primarily mid-level managers. Microsoft currently employs around 3,000 people in Israel across two divisions: the local sales and marketing team and its R&D center. The company declined to comment on the report.
