Microsoft Expects Headcount to Decrease in Coming Quarters
Microsoft reported quarterly results on Wednesday, stating it expects headcount to decrease in its next fiscal year. Microsoft stock experienced its worst quarterly performance since 2008. CFO Amy Hood discussed this during an earnings conference call, explaining that the company is evolving its operations to increase pace and agility, leading to a year-over-year reduction in headcount. Hood also mentioned recent organizational changes and internal memos promoting tighter, more accountable teams. Microsoft has already cut thousands of jobs, including offering buyouts to long-serving employees, affecting up to 7% of its US workforce (about 8,750 people) who meet retirement criteria. Quarterly revenue was $83 billion, with net income at $32 billion. Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow noted that Microsoft’s cloud business growth was below the significant acceleration seen at competitors Amazon and Google. Hood forecasted a 39% to 40% growth for Microsoft’s Azure business. Earlier this year, Microsoft’s shares faced concerns about whether its AI infrastructure investments would yield returns and the threat posed by AI software. Microsoft and OpenAI adjusted their partnership, allowing OpenAI to collaborate more with other cloud providers, including Amazon, which later announced GPT models would be available on its cloud. Microsoft also partnered with Accenture to roll out Copilot to nearly 750,000 employees and unveiled a new software bundle with Copilot.
Source: Business Insider