Microsoft plans to eliminate around 6,000 positions, which represents less than 3% of its total global workforce. The objective of these layoffs is to minimize the number of middle management roles and to enhance the ratio of coders to non-coders, as previously reported by Business Insider.
The company confirmed that notifications regarding these job cuts would commence on Tuesday. According to an insider, those affected will remain on the payroll for 60 days and will still be eligible for bonuses and rewards, although a Microsoft spokesperson has not commented on or confirmed these specifics.
As reported by Business Insider last month, these cuts are aimed at decreasing middle management and elevating the number of coding employees involved in projects. Microsoft aims to enhance its “span of control,” which refers to the number of employees reporting to each manager. It’s worth noting that these recent layoffs are not linked to employee performance.
Similar trends can be observed across the tech industry, where many companies are reducing the number of middle managers. For example, Amazon has been working to increase the number of individual contributors relative to managers. Additionally, in December, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a 10% reduction in vice president and manager positions as part of a broader efficiency initiative.
Moreover, Microsoft is also focused on lowering the “PM ratio” within certain teams, which indicates the proportion of product managers or program managers compared to engineers.
