Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds In Mixed Reality and Azure

Microsoft is reportedly laying off more employees, this time in its mixed reality and Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering teams....
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds In Mixed Reality and Azure
Written by Matt Milano
  • Microsoft is reportedly laying off more employees, this time in its mixed reality and Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering teams.

    According to CNBC, the employees affected by the new round of layoffs include members of the HoloLens 2 team. Despite the layoffs, Microsoft says it will continue to sell the headset.

    “Earlier today we announced a restructuring of the Microsoft’s Mixed Reality organization,” the spokesperson told CNBC in an email. “We remain fully committed to the Department of Defense’s IVAS program 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 mixed reality team is not the only one impacted. According to Business Insider, Microsoft is also laying off employees in its Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering. The outlet’s sources say the layoffs could impact up to 1,500 employees.

    The layoffs in the Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering teams are not entirely surprising. As Insider points out, both teams fall under the Strategic Missions and Technologies division, responsible for Microsoft’s moonshot programs.

    Given Microsoft’s deal with OpenAI, it could be that some of those layoffs could be some of those layoffs were people working on projects that are now obsolete as a result of the OpenAI deal. Alternately, the layoffs could be team members from other projects that Microsoft may be de-prioritizing as it goes all-in on AI.

    Either way, this marks multiple rounds of layoffs impacting the mixed reality and Azure teams.

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