This seems a common theme: even in a company like Microsoft that takes pains to emphasize and support the IC track in addition to management there is a tendency towards creating layers that end up reducing agility.
Maybe it's just an excuse though. I am surprised they announced the 3% rather than just accomplishing it with attrition and slowing hiring. Maybe it looks smart to stockholders so they want the attention.
Because uncalculated 3% is a smaller number than 6000?
barbazoo•2h ago
Ok, sure, what does that mean though.
> The company reported better-than-expected results, with $25.8 billion in quarterly net income, and an upbeat forecast in late April.
Agree! Better tighten the belt. Don’t want to dip below $100 billion net income a year.
lwo32k•2h ago
The earnings call transcript is more useful than these stupid news articles - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/earnings/FY-2025-Q2...
Basically Azure earnings were at the low end of their own projections. And their explanation was Azure non-AI services earnings have dropped as customers who have ongoing non-AI projects are working out how to incorporate AI services.
zeroq•57m ago
I was shocked and flabergasted that someone could stand in front of couple hundred people and tell them with the same breath that the situation is so dire that we have to stop using printers and we'd better start bringing our own toilet paper to the office, and complain that the company only made 2 billion last year, which is absolute disaster and the company won't surive if we won't adapt.
I was even more shocked when I approached fellow colleagues after the townhall, whom all seemed to completely swallow the pill - "you heard it? bollocks, right?" - "yeah, but you saw the charts, it's absolute disaster. I'm glad they took my bonus and let me keep my position".