Tech job cut: Microsoft lays off 1,000 employees from mixed reality team

Microsoft announced that it has laid off 1,000 employees from its mixed reality unit, according to a report by CNBC.

The company’s mixed reality division oversees the development of the HoloLens 2 augmented reality headset.

The report cited a Microsoft spokesperson as saying, “Earlier today we announced a restructuring of Microsoft’s mixed reality organisation.”

The spokesperson said the HoloLens 2 and other AR related programmes will continue and won’t be affected despite the layoffs.  “We remain fully committed to the Department of Defence’s IVAS programme and will continue to deliver cutting edge technology to support our soldiers. In addition, we will continue to invest in W365 to reach the broader mixed reality hardware ecosystem. We will continue to sell HoloLens 2 while supporting existing HoloLens 2 customers and partners,” the report quoted the spokesperson as saying.

Majority of the jobs cut have been within the “company’s Strategic Missions and Technologies organisation, which aims to sell Microsoft’s cloud software and server rentals for businesses with highly specified needs such as telecom firms and space companies.”

Microsoft has been steadily decreasing its investment in the mixed reality division. In December 2023, it discontinued Windows Mixed Reality, which included several tools for running mixed-reality headset applications. However, Microsoft has said that it remains committed to the HoloLens. “This deprecation doesn’t affect HoloLens. We remain committed to HoloLens and our enterprise customers,” Microsoft had then said.

Over 9,500 employees lose job across 39 companies in May

Amidst the turbulence of economic uncertainties, layoffs continue to cast a shadow over the tech industry’s workforce. As many as 39 companies have laid off a total of 9,742 employees in May this year, according to a report by tech layoffs tracker layoffs.fyi.

With this, as many as 89,333 employees have been laid off across 306 tech companies in 2024 so far.

Google fires 200 employees

Google reportedly fired nearly 200 employees from its core teams last month. These job cuts have reportedly affected engineering positions in Sunnyvale, California. The layoffs are part of the downsising initiative that started last year when Alphabet announced its plan to reduce its workforce by about 6 per cent.

Indeed fires 1,000 employees

Job-search website Indeed laid off nearly 8 per cent of its workforce in May 2024, mainly affecting employees in the United States. This second round of layoffs impacted staff in the research and development units, as well as other teams responsible for delivering products to customers, the report said.

Toshiba laid off 4,000 employees

Toshiba announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs domestically as part of its restructuring efforts. This reduction accounts for 6 per cent of the company’s local workforce. In addition to these job cuts, Toshiba is planning to relocate some office functions from central Tokyo to Kawasaki, a city west of the capital.

TikTok fires over 1,000 employees globally

Popular short-video platform TikTok has laid off 1,000 employees worldwide, affecting staff in the operations and marketing teams. Although TikTok has provided limited official reasons for the layoffs, industry analysts have speculated on several potential factors. Some suggest it may be a cost-cutting measure, particularly in response to the constantly changing regulatory environment impacting social media giants, the report stated.

First Published: Jun 06 2024 | 9:52 AM IST