Microsoft has dismissed as completely baseless reports that it plans to lay off 22,000 employees this month. Microsoft's Chief Communications Officer Frank Shaw has refuted these layoff reports. Several recent reports had claimed that Microsoft was preparing for its first major round of layoffs in 2026. The reports also claimed that the gaming, Azure, and sales teams could be affected.
These layoff claims were made in a post on a workplace forum called 'Blind'. It stated that 5 to 10 per cent of employees could be affected by these layoffs in the third week of January. The post also claimed that Microsoft's goal was to reduce middle-level management. It was also allegedly part of this layoff plan to change the ratio of employees to managers.
As these speculations spread online, Frank Shaw responded on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote clearly, "This news is 100 per cent made up, speculative and wrong." Earlier, the editor of Windows Central had also stated that this claim was not accurate, at least regarding the Xbox division. Later, Frank Shaw's statement refuted the entire report.
However, doubts about this have not been completely dispelled. A user named 'The Cybersec Guru' on X claimed that these layoffs would be "confirmed" within a few weeks. In response, Frank Shaw briefly wrote, "I'll wait."
Over the past year, Microsoft has laid off large numbers of employees in multiple rounds. In 2025 alone, more than 15,000 employees had to leave Microsoft. In July last year, nearly 9,000 employees lost their jobs. Along with this, several gaming projects and studios were shut down.
Microsoft has announced major investments in India for the coming days. It will invest $17.5 billion in India between 2026 and 2029. Microsoft had stated that this investment was aimed at expanding the use of artificial intelligence technology on a large scale. Earlier, in January 2025, this US tech giant had also announced an additional $3 billion investment.
