Microsoft Announces Job Cuts: DEI Team, Sacked Over Shifting Business Needs

Microsoft has announced significant job cuts with the disbandment of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) team, citing shifting business needs as the reason behind the layoffs. The decision has sparked controversy within the company, with the sacked team leader criticising the move in an email sent to employees. Reportedly, the leader of the disbanded team has openly criticized Microsoft, labelling its corporate culture as "toxic and discriminatory." In an email sent to thousands of employees, the leader expressed disappointment, suggesting that the company no longer values the transformative impact of DEI initiatives.

In January, Microsoft laid off 2,000 employees in its gaming unit, months after it acquired Activision Blizzard, the company’s largest acquisition worth $69 billion.These layoffs have come shortly after the conclusion of Microsoft’s fiscal year 2024, which ended on June 30. It is common for the company to implement restructuring parts of its business when it transitions into a new fiscal year.

In June this year, Microsoft cut around 1,000 jobs in areas including the Azure cloud unit and the HoloLens mixed reality organisation.Microsoft’s employee count rose during the COVID-19 pandemic but has stabilised since. The company had employed around 2,27,000 employees worldwide by the end of 2023, down from 2,32,000 the previous year, according to Greekwire.The recent layoffs come as Microsoft tries to maintain its profit margins and increase capital expenditure to provide the cloud infrastructure needed to train and deploy the models that power AI applications.