It’s not the first time that people claiming to be familiar with the matter have anonymously alleged that Microsoft will make cuts across various divisions. Over the Christmas period, various news sites opened rumors that Microsoft will be cutting as many as 15,000 employees from its workforce on Jan 15.
New speculation has pushed that date back, with the WSJ claiming that Microsoft may be announcing the alleged layoffs as early as next week, as the company heads for its quarterly earnings report.
Following the first wave of rumors, Microsoft told Edge it wouldn’t comment, yet pointed to a Microsoft blog stating that “massive layoffs” were “unlikely”.
The Journal also suggested that any layoffs that Microsoft announces will likely be far less the previously-suggested figure of 15,000, while at the same time the WSJ is told that the firm’s plans to downsize could be circumvented through alternative methods of saving costs.
Insiders close to the company did not mention Microsoft's Xbox division.
Source: Wall Street Journal (preview only for non-subscribers)