Microsoft Corporation has announced it will eliminate approximately 6,000 jobs, representing nearly 3% of its global workforce.

The company, headquartered in Redmond, Washington, employed 228,000 full-time workers as of June 2023, with around 55% of that workforce based in the United States.

The layoffs, which were communicated to employees on Tuesday, will affect various levels and regions within the organization, with a particular focus on reducing management layers.

In a statement regarding the layoffs, Microsoft emphasized the need for organizational changes to position the company for success amid a rapidly changing marketplace.

These layoffs follow a previous round of performance-based job cuts implemented earlier in January, which resulted in the elimination of 10,000 positions, or approximately 5% of its workforce.

The recent cuts represent Microsoft’s largest reported layoffs since that earlier announcement.

Despite these job reductions, Microsoft has reported strong financial performance, surpassing Wall Street's earnings expectations for the January to March quarter of this year.

This trend has provided some relief to investors during a challenging period for the tech sector and the broader U.S. economy.

The company has consistently exceeded earnings estimates over the past four consecutive quarters.

During an earnings call in April, Amy Hood, Microsoft's chief financial officer, stated that the company aims to enhance its agility and build high-performing teams by reducing management layers.

Hood noted that the workforce size in March 2023 was 2% higher compared to the same month the previous year, demonstrating that, despite the layoffs, the overall headcount had seen slight fluctuations.

The announcement of these layoffs is part of a larger trend among technology companies that have adjusted their staffing levels following the pandemic-era expansion phase, reflecting broader economic uncertainties and shifts in market dynamics.