Microsoft is encouraging remaining employees to “invest in your own AI skilling” following a series of massive layoffs that have eliminated over 15,000 positions across multiple divisions this year, according to internal communications obtained by The Information.The Redmond giant has conducted at least four major rounds of workforce reductions in 2025, cutting approximately 9,000 jobs in the latest round that particularly impacted the Xbox gaming division and sales teams. Previous cuts included 6,000 positions in May and hundreds more in June.
AI usage now mandatory for performance reviews at Microsoft
Julia Liuson, president of Microsoft’s Developer Division, recently instructed managers that artificial intelligence usage “should be part of your holistic reflections on an individual’s performance and impact.” In internal emails, Liuson declared that “using AI is no longer optional — it’s core to every role and every level,” Business Insider reported.The company is considering adding formal AI usage metrics to performance reviews as it pushes for greater adoption of its Copilot AI services. Some teams are exploring including specific AI usage benchmarks in next fiscal year’s employee evaluations, according to sources familiar with the plans.
Microsoft’s strategy overhaul targets traditional roles
Microsoft’s latest cuts primarily targeted traditional salespeople, who the company plans to replace with more technical “solutions engineers” capable of demonstrating AI tools directly to customers. Sales chief Judson Althoff outlined plans to become “the Frontier AI Firm” and “establish a Copilot on every device and across every role” in a memo sent the day before layoffs were announced.Despite massive investments of approximately $80 billion in AI infrastructure this fiscal year, the company is streamlining operations to balance costs while positioning itself for long-term AI dominance.
