Microsoft Denies Mass Layoff Rumors as ‘100% Made Up’
Microsoft has denied rumors that mass layoffs of up to 22,000 employees are set to take place later this month, with Head of Communications Frank Shaw calling the claims “100 percent made up, speculative, and wrong.”
This comes after reports from HR Digest and other websites claimed that insider knowledge pointed to the possibility of mass layoffs on the way across Gaming, Azure, and Sales teams.
Why Were There Claims of Mass Layoffs?
Earlier this week, reports that layoffs in the thousands could be impacting employees at tech giant Microsoft began circulating, with total numbers suspected to total 5-10% of current employees. Microsoft has around 220,000 employees.
Reports claimed that layoffs would take place as part of a multi-year plan, targeting management and middle layers, with posts from Blind, an anonymous professional networking platform, alleging that new hires in high-demand AI/skills areas and core product areas were “safer”.
When Salesforce Ben initially reached out to Microsoft, the company declined to comment, but on Wednesday, longtime Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw put claims to rest on X.
One commenter, likely not believing the rebuttal, said they would bookmark the post in the event that mass layoffs did occur. Shaw’s response was simple: “I eagerly await.”
Why Did This Happen?
This is not the first time that layoffs rumors have had employees anxious about their jobs, even at Microsoft. Last year, the company laid off more than 15,000 people, and with a total of 122,000+ tech employees laid off globally last year, tensions remain high.
Not only that, but artificial intelligence continues to be a topic of anxious conversation in the tech industry, with AI replacing jobs or being used as a scapegoat for mass layoffs.
In December 2025, it was revealed that Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, had qualms about the company’s current scale of work and indicated that a further push towards increased efficiency and optimization was desperately needed, especially in the face of AI.
“Satya is trying to demonstrate a sense of urgency,” one Microsoft executive told The Financial Times. “The goal is to get out of some of the structures that exist and make the route to him easier.”
According to the publication, Nadella is responding to greater competition from rivals in the AI market and seeking to speed up progress on building Microsoft’s own AI models. Last month, Microsoft also announced that it would be investing $17.5B in India across four years, to support large-scale adoption of artificial intelligence.
For concerned individuals, these rumors stoked an already flickering flame: 2026 would be launching with the newest round of AI-driven layoffs, setting the tone for the rest of the year.
Historically, January-February has consistently been a period in which tech companies have announced mass layoffs. Last January, Meta and Stripe announced layoffs totalling over 36,000 employees, and in February, Salesforce announced layoffs of over 1,000.
Summary
Evidently, layoffs across the tech industry are at the forefront of a lot of people’s minds. This is perhaps why Microsoft set the record straight in the first place; Shaw told The Seattle Times that “it’s somewhat uncommon for us to be this clear on something like this.”
Layoffs are typically formally announced or reported by the relevant companies as they happen, so it is important to approach rumors with skepticism. However, if layoffs are to take place – and start the 2026 layoffs season off – we will be reporting on them as they do.
