Microsoft layoffs hit HoloLens, advertising and marketing employees

10:37 AM EST on January 19, 2023

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in an online post that Microsoft will continue to hire in “key strategic areas.”

Microsoft’s first round of 10,000 layoffs took place Wednesday, with employees in the fields of marketing, advertising, recruiting, gaming and mixed reality publicly announcing their retirement from the tech giant.

Dismissed employees turned to Microsoft-owned LinkedIn to post about job losses and look for new opportunities. Microsoft and other technology vendors have blamed recent layoffs on a return to normal customer demand after a scramble to remote work and digital transformation during the pandemic.

The US also continues to battle rising inflation from rising interest rates, another driver of job cuts.

[RELATED: Microsoft Layoffs Ahead Of Q2 Earnings: 5 Things To Know]

Microsoft lays off 10,000 employees

The Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant reports that 878 workers will be permanently laid off at its home base, according to a notice filed with the state of Washington.

CRN has reached out to Microsoft regarding whether partner organizations will be impacted by the layoffs.

Here are some hiring-related Microsoft employees who posted on LinkedIn about the layoffs:

* More than 1 year at Microsoft as a Global Technical Recruiter

* Technical Recruiter with 3+ years at Microsoft

* 2+ years as Director of Global Talent Acquisition at Microsoft

*University recruiters who have worked at Microsoft for more than 2 years

Here are the Microsoft gaming employees who posted about the layoffs:

* World Building Artist at 343 Industries, a Microsoft subsidiary known for the Halo series of video games

* Over 4 years as License Coordinator at Microsoft Xbox subsidiary ZeniMax and Bethesda Softworks

* Associate Public Relations Manager at Bethesda

Microsoft marketing, advertising, and other employees who posted about the layoffs on LinkedIn include:

*At least two Microsoft marketers are responsible for the company’s vertical solutions, one has been with Microsoft for 6+ years and the other has been with Microsoft for 4+ years.

* Senior Client Partner and Digital Advisor for Health and Wellness at Microsoft Advertising, with over 10 years of combined experience with Microsoft.

*Senior Client Partner with 16+ years at Microsoft Advertising

* Senior Client Partner at Microsoft’s PromoteIQ Vendor Marketing Program Scaler for Online Retailers

* 4+ years as a Level 2 Product Manager on Microsoft’s Edge Security team

“I was awakened by the news that my employer is laying off 10,000 employees starting today,” wrote a talent recruiter who has been with Microsoft for over a year. “Unfortunately I was among the employees. A truly sad day for all affected,” the recruiter wrote.

“I loved working at Microsoft. I am very proud of what I did there and the friendships I made.” More than four years at Microsoft. “And my heartfelt condolences to all others affected by the layoffs.”

According to Bloomberg, Microsoft’s HoloLens virtual reality hardware and Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) are among the business units hit hard by the job cuts. The job cuts come after the federal government rejected his $400 million U.S. Army request to buy up to 6,900 HoloLens goggles this fiscal year.

The entire tech industry has been hit by a wave of cutbacks to address concerns about rising US inflation and interest rates and a possible global recession. Citrix, Informatica, Salesforce, Cisco, HP Inc., Intel, Elastic, Aqua Security, Microsoft-focused AvePoint, and N-able are some of the vendors that recently announced reductions.

The 10,000 employees laid off at Microsoft represent less than 5% of the vendor’s global workforce.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in an online post that Microsoft is reducing roles in some areas but will continue to hire in “key strategic areas.”

In fact, about 20 job openings have been posted on Microsoft’s careers website since Wednesday.

Roles Microsoft fills include Level 2 Technical Program Manager for Azure. User Experience Product Management Principal Manager for Azure Infrastructure as a Service. Product Manager for Microsoft Intelligent Communications Collaboration Cloud. Lead product data analyst for the Office product group. Word Software Engineer. Principal Engineering Manager on the Microsoft 365 Substrat Capacity Management Team. Senior Software Engineer in the Teams Calls, Meetings and Devices group.