July 12 (UPI) -- In a realignment of its business groups, Microsoft said it cut jobs in some areas and will make hires in other roles that will increase its total number of employees during the fiscal year that started in July.
The tech giant said its layoffs will affect about 1% of its 180,000 employees around the world. Those job cuts include spots in consulting, consumer and partner solutions.
"Today we notified a small number of employees that their roles have been eliminated," a Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC. "This was a result of a strategic realignment, and, like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis. We continue to invest in certain areas and grow headcount in the year ahead."
It was the first time Microsoft laid off workers since 2017. Meta Platforms, the parent of Facebook, said it was reducing its software engineer hiring targets to up to 7,000 from the previous projection of 10,000.
Cryptocurrency exchanges are laying off hundreds of employees as values plummet amid fears of a recession.
Coinbase said in June that it would lay off about 1,100 people, or 18% of its global workforce, leaving the company with about 5,000 employees.
