- The divisions that suspended hiring reportedly have tens of thousands of employees, and managers have been instructed to halt the hiring of any new candidates who have not already been given a job offer, as per the report.
- The company reportedly cited the need to restrain costs and improve margins for the decision.
- The news comes on the heels of layoffs and hiring freezes across the tech industry in order to offset large investments in artificial intelligence.
Windows OS maker Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) has reportedly paused hiring in major divisions including its Azure cloud.
The Information reported on Thursday, citing employees familiar with the matter, that company executives told managers to suspend new hiring in its North American sales groups as well.
“Azure Core no longer has room or approval to continue hiring,” Azure Core chief of staff Hilary Macfadden reportedly told Girish Bablani, President of Microsoft Azure Core, in an email earlier this month. Bablani leads the 11,000-person Azure engineering org.
The divisions that suspended hiring reportedly have tens of thousands of employees, and managers have been instructed to halt the hiring of any new candidates not already given a job offer, as per the report.
The company cited the need to restrain costs and improve margins for the decision, the report said, while also noting that it is routine for the company to slow hiring towards the end of its fiscal year in June.
Layoffs And Hiring Freezes Plague Tech Industry
The news comes on the heels of layoffs and hiring freezes across the tech industry in a move aimed at offsetting large investments in artificial intelligence. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Facebook parent Meta Platforms is planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company as AI costs mount. Amazon also announced a major round of cuts impacting approximately 16,000 corporate roles globally in January.
Microsoft’s hiring freeze is not companywide, and other departments, including the engineering division are still hiring, The Information reported, citing an employee. However, the company’s headcount has slowed in recent years after a surge in hiring from late 2021 to early 2022. It ended its last fiscal year with roughly 228,000 full time employees, about the same amount as a year earlier.
How Did Retail Traders React?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around MSFT stock rose from ‘bullish’ to ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume stayed at ‘high’ levels.
MSFT stock has lost 6% over the past 12 months.
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