Microsoft freezes hiring in major cloud, sales groups

Microsoft executives have in recent ⁠weeks ⁠told managers at major ⁠divisions, including its cloud unit and North American sales ​groups, to suspend new hiring.

Executives told managers to halt the hiring of any new ⁠candidates who ⁠did not already have a job offer, citing the need ​to cut costs and boost margins, the report said.

However, the freeze is not company-wide and other divisions including the group building Microsoft’s Copilot AI tool ​are still hiring, according to the report.

The ⁠hiring freeze ​comes as Microsoft approaches the end of its fiscal year in June. ​The company, like other ⁠tech giants, is looking to rein in costs to offset hefty investments in AI infrastructure.

Reuters reported earlier this month that Meta was planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company. A ⁠source told Reuters this week that the Facebook parent was laying off ⁠a few hundred people across multiple teams.

Amazon has also trimmed roughly 30,000 corporate employees over the past six months, starting with a round of some 14,000 white-collar employees in October, tying the layoffs to efficiency gains from AI as well as reversing pandemic-era over-hiring.

Microsoft, which had about 228,000 employees globally as of June 2025, has been under growing pressure to show returns from ⁠its AI bets. The company reported slower cloud computing growth in the October-December quarter, while also reporting record capital spending on AI, spooking investors.

The Windows maker last announced wide layoffs in July, ​cutting about 4% of its workforce. Reuters