A new report has suggested that Microsoft plans to lay off thousands of employees, with an announcement set to take place tomorrow. It's being reported that the tech giant is wanting to cut its workforce by 5 percent due to the slowing global economy.As suggested by Sky News, this figure means that up to 11,000 employees could lose their jobs in the coming weeks, with one Wall Street analyst suggesting the number could be higher. Sky News has reported that the official announcement of these layoffs will be made before an earnings call on January 24, but The Verge claims that it may happen as early as tomorrow.These layoffs will come shortly after Microsoft revealed that it's scrapping fixed paid time off in favor of unlimited holidays. The new scheme sounds worker friendly on the outside, but many were concerned at the time that this was an attempt by the company to avoid having to pay out for unused paid time off. With the news of these layoffs, it's difficult to see the measure as anything but another cost-cutting attempt.
News of these layoffs likely won't go down well with the general public, especially since Microsoft is still trying to get its $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard over the line. Not only has the deal been likely been delayed due to an antitrust lawsuit from the FTC, but the EU has now decided to get involved as well, as it's looking to put forward a "statement of objections" that Microsoft will need to address before April 11.
It's unlikely that either of these issues will force Microsoft to abandon the acquisition, but it's probably more of a fight than the company was expecting as this point last year. The deal was initally expected to go through by June 2023, but when the deal will go through now is currently unknown.