Channelnews : microsoft chops thousands of jobs as office apps get a reprieve

AI is starting to be used by Microsoft to slash headcount with the big software Company set to chop 3% of its global workforce, at this stage it’s not known which jobs will go in the

Australian which is primarily a sales operation spanning enterprise, SMB and consumer offerings. The Company claims that they are moving to shifts more resources towards the development of

advanced artificial intelligence systems that could result in further cuts. The layoffs will likely impact more than 7,000 jobs across all divisions and locations of Microsoft’s global

business, the tech giant said. They are also the most significant since January 2023, when Microsoft slashed 10,000 jobs. The company had also announced a small round of performance-based

layoffs earlier this year. The company, led by CEO Satya Nadella, had 228,000 employees worldwide as of last June. Microsoft, one of the key backers of OpenAI, is locked in a fierce

competition with Elon Musk’s xAI, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, Google and other companies developing AI tools. They have also been trying to push users of their older Office 365 apps offering

into using the poorly designed cloud based version. Recently Microsoft has walked back plans to end support for its Office productivity apps on Windows 10 before the end of the year.

Initially the Company planned to kill off support for its legacy operating system Windows 10 on October 14, along with the Microsoft 365 apps. Microsoft Teams At the time Microsoft said: “To

use Microsoft 365 Applications on your device, you will need to upgrade to Windows 11.” I have been using the old apps on a Windows 11 machine and it’s way superior to Microsoft cloud based

offering, the only problem is that there is no guarantee of security plugs. Now Microsoft has seen sense with the Company delivering three more years of support. “To help maintain security

while you transition to Windows 11, Microsoft will continue providing security updates for Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows 10 for three years after Windows 10 reaches end of support,” the

software giant says in a support post recently. “These updates will be delivered through the standard update channels, ending on October 10, 2028.” As for the chopping of staff numbers A

Microsoft executive said, “We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace,”. They claim that layoffs are

partially aimed at cutting layers of management at Microsoft. The cuts were announced just days after Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $70.07 billion, beating Wall Street’s

expectations. About Post Author David Richards David Richards has been writing about technology for more than 30 years. A former Fleet Street journalist, he wrote the Award Winning Series on

the Federated Ships Painters + Dockers Union for the Bulletin that led to a Royal Commission. He is also a Logie Winner for Outstanding Contribution To TV Journalism with a story called The

Werribee Affair. In 1997, he built the largest Australian technology media company and prior to that the third largest PR company that became the foundation company for Ogilvy PR. Today he

writes about technology and the impact on both business and consumers.