Microsoft, new layoffs: another 1,000 employees at home, this time it’s up to the HoloLens and Azure teams

They continue layoffs at Microsoft. The Redmond company announced yet another staff cut on Monday, reportedly affecting around 1,000 employees. As previously reported by CNBC, the mixed reality department working on HoloLens 2 is one of the affected areas. Business Insider later reported that too Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering has suffered cuts of “hundreds” of employees.

When asked about the matter, Microsoft sent a note via spokesperson Craig Cincotta, confirming the layoffs and telling The Verge the following: “We have announced a restructuring of Microsoft’s Mixed Reality organization. We remain fully committed to the Department’s IVAS program of Defense and will continue to provide cutting-edge technology to support our Soldiers. Additionally, we will continue to invest in W365 ​​to reach the broader Mixed Reality hardware ecosystem. We will continue to sell HoloLens 2 and support existing HoloLens 2 customers and partners.”

This is yet another round of layoffs at Microsoft. The company laid off more than 10,000 people last year, and CEO Satya Nadella said the company was changing its hardware portfolio. Since then, Microsoft has completed its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, invested heavily in artificial intelligence, fired numerous developers, shuttered development teams, such as Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, and recently began focusing on “PCs with artificial intelligence” with a new series of Surface devices powered by Qualcomm chips.

“Organizational and workforce adjustments are a necessary and regular part of running our business. We will continue to prioritize and invest in strategic growth areas for our future and in support of our customers and partners,” Cincotta said in closing.

Microsoft formed the Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering department in 2021 to include its “Moonshots,” which are cutting-edge units like Azure Space, which aims to partner with companies like SpaceX and deploy a portable data center in a box. Other teams in the group work on projects such as supporting telecommunications and developing a quantum computer.