Microsoft is laying off hundreds in its Azure cloud business, sources say

Microsoft is cutting hundreds of employees from its Azure cloud
business, according to people familiar with the situation.

The layoffs impacted teams including Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering, the people said. One of the people estimated that the Azure for Operators layoffs involved 1,500 job cuts. These sources asked not to be identified discussing private matters.

The Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering teams are part of an organization created to house Microsoft moonshots. This broader org was created in 2021 and is called Strategic Missions and Technologies (SMT). It’s led by former Azure boss Jason Zander and brings together cutting-edge initiatives such as quantum computing and space alongside its government cloud business.

But that was before Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI really started to pay off, making it a leader in generative AI.

Microsoft typically makes small workforce cuts around this time of year as it transitions to a new fiscal year after June 30, but layoffs have become more common at the company and in the tech industry more broadly.

The company last year announced plans to cut 10,000 employees within the first few months of 2023. It has conducted additional rounds of layoffs since then.