In five years, the number of employees in the Russian office of Microsoft has almost halved and the software giant will continue to cut its staff. This was announced on Friday, June 11, by RBC with reference to its own source.
The planned layoffs of Microsoft employees in Russia began seven years ago, in 2014. At that time, about one thousand people worked in the local office, and by this time their number has decreased to 300 people. The first wave of layoffs, in which Microsoft reduced its staff by 10-15%, took place in 2013-2017. Then it was caused by a change in the company’s strategy and the transition to cloud solutions. The second wave fell on 2017-2019 and led to the reduction of another 15% of the staff. For the second time, the need to reduce the staff arose in connection with the optimization of the business structure. The drop in sales of Microsoft products in the Russian market due to the import substitution policy initiated by the local authorities also played a role. Mostly employees from the sales, marketing and service sectors fell under the layoff. Over the past few years, Microsoft has closed a number of its representatives in the country, including in Ufa, Chelyabinsk and Kaliningrad.
A spokesman for the Russian office of Microsoft, to which the journalists turned for comment, said that the company has not recently carried out large-scale cuts. He assured that Microsoft continues to work in Russia as before.
Interestingly, despite the cuts in the Russian office, the total staff of the software giant is growing. As of June last year, the company employed a total of about 163 thousand people worldwide, which is 13% more compared to 2019. Most of the employees, namely 59%, work in the US offices of Microsoft.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
