Microsoft to cut up to 9,000 more jobs as it invests in AI

Microsoft has officially announced the job lay off news. As per the information, above 9000 workers are in line. The tech giant to cut jobs from its several divisions without specifying which ones but reports suggest that its Xbox video gaming unit will be hit.

The Windows OS maker is looking to invest more in artificial intelligence (AI), and is spending $80bn (£68.6bn) in huge data centres to train AI models.

Official Statement

A spokesperson for the firm told the BBC: “We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace.” The cuts would equate to 4% of Microsoft’s 228,000-strong global workforce.

According to an internal email seen by The Verge and gaming publication IGN, Microsoft has told gaming staff that the planned reboot of first-person shooter series Perfect Dark, along with another title, Everwild, will be cancelled.

The Initiative, a Microsoft-owned studio behind the Perfect Dark reboot, will also be shut down, the memo stated.

Job cuts have also affected staff across wider studios owned by Microsoft, including Forza Motorsport maker Turn 10 and Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios, according to employee posts on social media seen by the BBC.

Matt Firor, studio director of ZeniMax Online Studios, announced on Wednesday he would be leaving his position in July after more than 18 years at the studio.

“While I won’t be working on the game anymore, I will be cheering you on and adding to the thousands of hours I’ve already spent in-game,” said a post attributed to Mr Firor by ZeniMax on X.

Romero Games Ltd, an independent studio based in Galway, Ireland – co-founded by Doom developer John Romero – has also cut staff after funding for its game was axed by its publisher.

“These people are the best people I’ve ever worked with, and I’m sorry to say that our game and our studio were also affected,” said Mr Romero in a post on X.

Microsoft has initiated three other rounds of redundancies so far in 2025, including in May when it said it would cut 6,000 roles.

Microsoft is cutting more than 800 jobs, mostly in two cities in Washington state – Redmond and Bellevue, where the company has big offices.Like other big tech companies, Microsoft is now focusing heavily on artificial intelligence (AI). They’re spending money on computer data centers and special chips for AI work. Last year, they hired a famous AI expert from Britain named Mustafa Suleyman to run their new AI department.

AI Will Change Everything

A Microsoft leader recently said that AI will completely change how we work and talk to each other over the next 50 years. Microsoft has also invested a lot of money in OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT. But their relationship has become strained lately.

Microsoft created its own AI helper called Copilot, but it’s having trouble getting businesses to buy it because many workers still prefer using ChatGPT instead.

While Microsoft is laying off regular workers, big tech companies are fighting over the best AI experts and paying them huge amounts of money.

Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) is trying to hire smart people from other companies to build a special AI lab. Their CEO Mark Zuckerberg is personally involved in recruiting these people.

The competition is so intense that some AI experts are being offered more than $100 million just to sign with Meta, according to Sam Altman, who runs OpenAI. Last month, Amazon boss Andy Jassy said he expected AI would replace some of his firm’s workers.