Microsoft began its latest round of job cuts this year across its global operations on Wednesday as it looks to shed an additional 9,000 workers, including some in Ireland, in a bid to control costs.
The software company declined to comment on how many jobs would be affected in Ireland, where it employs some 6,000 people.
Bloomberg reported previously that Microsoft planned to announce cuts of around 4 per cent of its global workforce in July, amounting to around 9,000 of its 228,000 staff.
If applied uniformly to Ireland, it means some 240 jobs could be on the firing line in the Republic.
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In response to queries, a spokeswoman for Microsoft Ireland said: “We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic market.”
Bloomberg reported that the cuts will be spread across geographies and target salespeople, as well as divisions including Xbox.
The terminations follow an earlier round of lay-offs in May that hit 6,000 people and fell hardest on product and engineering positions. Microsoft also shed around 1,000 jobs in January.
Microsoft often restructures teams and announces other changes near the end of its fiscal year, which closes in June.
Some 128 jobs were lost last year at Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard arm in Cork where the gaming subsidiary operates a support centre.
Accounts filed recently for Blizzard Entertainment Ireland Ltd showed that the job cuts cost €9 million in “employee severance expenses” last year.
In a note to the accounts, the directors said that in January 2024 the ultimate parent of the company, Microsoft Corporation, announced it would reduce the size of its gaming workforce “to achieve sustainable cost structure”.
They said “the headcount reduction has no impact on the nature of the company’s operations, or on the ability of the company to continue as a going concern”.
The accounts also show that the company recorded a pretax profit of €3.54 million as revenues almost doubled from €16.9 million to €32.43 million.
Tech companies, including several big employers in the Republic, have made significant cuts this year in a move to trim costs.
Almost 200 mandatory redundancies are expected this autumn at the Intel plant in Leixlip, Co Kildare, The Irish Times reported on Monday, as the company undertakes a restructuring.
A recent report from Rational FX found more than 90,000 job losses have been announced in the tech sector globally since the start of this year.
– Additional reporting: Bloomberg
