Microsoft may lay off over 5,000 employees next week, big job cuts at Xbox expected

Summary

Microsoft is expected to announce a fresh round of layoffs as early as next week. The tech giant is one of the biggest tech companies in the world, with big investments planned for AI. As per a report from Business Insider, Microsoft is likely planning to cut just under 2.5 per cent of its global workforce, which has around 2,20,000 workers. Keep in mind that this is not the first time Microsoft is cutting back its workforce. Last year, the company laid off roughly 15,000 roles between May and July, accounting for 4 per cent of its global workforce at the time. India Today Tech has reached out to Microsoft for a comment. The report indicates that this round of layoffs is likely to affect employees across several divisions, including sales, consulting and the Xbox gaming division. Xbox’s new CEO Asha Sharma recently announced a reset for Xbox, which sparked rumours of potential layoffs in the gaming division. In May, Meta cut around 8,000 jobs , or roughly 10 per cent of its global workforce. As per Layoffs.fyi, tech companies have laid off a total of 122,524 workers so far in 2026.