Microsoft announced earlier this month that it plans to cut up to 9,000 jobs, marking the latest round of workforce reductions by the tech giant in 2025, now the US Vice President J.D. Vance said that the tech ginat fired 9,000 American workers while still going for H-1B Visas.
“We want the brightest mind to make America their home. But we dont want company to fire 9000 American workers and then say we cant find workers here in America,” Vice President noted a viral video.
Although Microsoft has not revealed which departments will be affected specifically, rumours suggest that the Xbox gaming division might be one of them. In order to support the development and training of AI technologies, the tech giant has committed to investing about $80 billion (roughly £68.6 billion) in the construction of massive data centres.
Microsoft’s workforce stood at 228,000:
As of June last year, Microsoft’s workforce stood at 228,000 full-time employees globally. The company confirmed on July 2, 2025, that the new wave of job reductions would affect nearly 4% of its total staff—equivalent to about 9,000 roles. This follows a series of layoffs earlier in the year.
As reported by The Verge and gaming outlet IGN, an internal email from Microsoft informed employees in its gaming division that the planned revival of the first-person shooter franchise Perfect Dark, along with another project titled Everwild, has been scrapped.
One of the most substantial cuts came in May, when Microsoft let go of approximately 6,000 employees—about 3% of its global headcount—the most significant workforce reduction the company has made in over two years as it deepened its investments in AI.
In June, Microsoft also let go of 300 more workers
In June, Microsoft also let go of 300 more workers at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. These cuts came on the heels of nearly 2,000 layoffs in the Puget Sound area in May, as detailed in official filings with employment agencies in Washington state.
