Microsoft According to internal communications obtained by the information, the remaining employees are encouraging them to “invest in your own AI skills,” following a series of massive layoffs that eliminated more than 15,000 positions in multiple departments this year.The Redmond giant implemented at least four major workforce cuts in 2025, cutting around 9,000 jobs in the most recent round that has had an impact. Xbox Games department and sales team. Previous cuts included 6,000 positions in May and hundreds more in June.
Using AI is a must for performance reviews at Microsoft
Julia Liuson, president of Microsoft's developer division, recently instructed her manager that the use of artificial intelligence should be “part of the overall reflection on individual performance and impact.” In an internal email, Liuson declared, “Using AI is no longer an option. It's the core of every role and every level.”The company is considering adding formal AI usage metrics to its performance reviews. This drives greater adoption of Copilot AI services. According to a well-versed source, some teams are considering including specific AI usage benchmarks in employee evaluations next year.
Microsoft's strategy overhaul targets traditional roles
Microsoft's latest cuts are primarily aimed at traditional salespeople. Traditional salespeople plan to replace AI tools with more technical “solution engineers” who can demonstrate directly to their customers. Sales Chief Judson Altooff outlined plans to become “frontier AI company” in a memo sent the day before the layoffs were announced and “establish a co-pilot across all devices and roles.”Despite a massive investment of around $80 billion in AI infrastructure this year, the company is streamlining its cost-balanced operations while positioning itself for long-term AI control.
