A process of dismissals has been underway for several months at Microsoft Portugal, marking the second time this year the company has laid off a significant number of employees.
A source confirmed that this collective dismissal impacts 68 employees, with positions being cut including customer account managers, cloud solution architects, and FastTrack teams, which help customers maximize the benefits of Microsoft solutions.
Upon inquiry, the Workers’ Committee of Microsoft Portugal, recently established, deferred comments to the company due to a confidentiality agreement.
An official from the multinational stated that Microsoft globally is “implementing necessary organizational changes to better position the company for success in a dynamic market,” reiterating an already public statement.
Based in Seattle, USA, Microsoft has conducted several rounds of layoffs.
The latest round, the second in a few months, was announced at the beginning of July, affecting thousands of employees across various teams globally, including sales and the Xbox gaming division.
Microsoft began issuing layoff notices on July 2 but declined to specify the exact number of affected employees, indicating only that the cuts represent less than 4% of the workforce from a year ago.
According to data from June the previous year, Microsoft employed around 228,000 full-time workers, suggesting the cuts announced in July could affect nearly 9,000 people.
However, it was unclear if the July cuts included the roughly 6,000 workers dismissed in a previous wave announced two months earlier, in May.
These layoff rounds occur as many tech companies continue to adjust their structures following significant investments and hiring during the pandemic years.
Microsoft, in particular, has been under pressure in recent years to control costs amid high expenses for data centers powering artificial intelligence and cloud computing services.
