Australian employees at Microsoft are expected to be affected by the company's latest global workforce reduction, with the technology giant cutting 4,800 jobs worldwide as part of a broader business restructure, according to ABC News.
The cuts represent around 2.1% of Microsoft's global workforce. While the company has not disclosed how many roles will be impacted locally, Microsoft Australia employs about 3,000 people across six offices, with the affected teams and locations yet to be confirmed.
The development adds to a challenging year for Australia's technology workforce, where global companies have increasingly been restructuring operations while investing heavily in artificial intelligence.
Tech sector trend
The latest cuts follow a series of workforce reductions across the technology sector that have also affected Australian employees.
Earlier this year, Atlassian announced nearly 500 job losses from its Australian workforce, while WiseTech Global said it planned to cut around 2,000 roles as artificial intelligence increasingly automates parts of software development.
For Microsoft's Australian workforce, uncertainty now centres on which functions and offices will be impacted. The company has not announced a timeline for the local redundancies or identified the business units affected.
The latest move underscores how global restructuring decisions by multinational technology companies continue to have direct consequences for Australian workers, even as demand for AI capabilities reshapes employment across the sector.