More layoffs at Microsoft as axe falls in Washington

One possible solution - go join a union like recently-acquired-by-Redmond ZeniMax

UPDATED Less than a month after Microsoft announced it was axing three percent of its staff, regulatory filings indicate new cuts at the tech behemoth.

According to California's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) list, where companies list planned layoffs, Microsoft let go 281 LinkedIn employees as part of earlier announced headcount reductions. Microsoft paid $26.2 billion for LinkedIn back in 2016 but is now culling staff in what CFO Amy Hood described as "increasing our agility by reducing layers with fewer managers."

A WARN notice in Washington state, meanwhile, lists 305 Microsoft workers departing for pastures new as of August 1. The software giant gave workers the unwelcome news on Monday morning. These cuts are in addition to previously announced cuts in May.

Reports on LinkedIn suggest the layoffs have come as part of Microsoft stepping back from its contract to develop the augmented reality Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) for the US Army. In February it was announced that the project will be run by Palmer Luckey's Anduril Industries.

It's the third round of layoffs for Microsoft this year. Apart from the three percent cut earlier in May, the company dismissed other staff in January, allegedly for performance reasons. In 2023 the company let go of 10,000 staff. Redmond also made smaller layoffs the previous year.

Microsoft had not responded to our request for comment at time of press.

The remaining staff might want to follow the example of their colleagues at video games company ZeniMax, which Microsoft bought in 2021. After the acquisition, ZeniMax staff promptly started work on joining a union - in this case the Communications Workers of America (CWA) - and completed the process in 2023.

Now the union has announced that after two years of negotiation, Microsoft has signed a deal with over 300 quality assurance workers at ZeniMax who are union members. The deal will give workers an across-the-board pay increase, sets a minimum salary for staff, and lead to the establishment of protections against arbitrary dismissal.

"Organizing unions, bargaining for a contract, and speaking with one collective voice has allowed workers to take back the autonomy we all deserve," said Jessee Leese, a QA tester at ZeniMax and ZeniMax Workers United-CWA bargaining committee member.

"Our first contract is an invitation for video game professionals everywhere to take action. We’re the ones who make these games, and we’ll be the ones to set new standards for fair treatment."

On its last earnings call April 30, Microsoft announced it had spent $9.7 billion on dividends and stock buybacks for shareholders and earned $25.8 billion in profit in the first calendar quarter of 2025, or approximately $12 million a day. ®

Updated and corrected at 18:50 UTC on June 3.

A Microsoft spokesperson contacted The Register and clarified that the LinkedIn layoffs reported in the May 28 California WARN Act notice were actually part of the previously announced headcount reduction from earlier in May. The Washington WARN Act notice, in contrast, represented new reductions in headcount.

The spokesperson also told us "We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace.”

The spokesperson also pointed out that Microsoft regularly adjusts its workforce, that these layoffs impact less than one percent of the company's headcount, and that the company is trying to streamline processes by - among other things - reducing the number of layers it operates by employing fewer managers.