Ex-Microsoft employee says it was a challenging journey, recalls she was laid off over an urgent call

By Divyanshi SharmaThe tech job market has seen a lot of layoffs recently and in the last few months, several companies fired employees as a measure to cut costs and grapple with present market conditions. Microsoft, Twitter, Meta, Google, and Amazon, among others, laid off thousands of employees and since then, LinkedIn has been full of posts from people who have been impacted.

One such former Microsoft employee took to LinkedIn and shared how she was told on call that it was her last day at work and that she was being laid off due to ‘organisational changes and cost reduction’.

Microsoft employee says she was laid off over call

Sharing her experience on LinkedIn, the woman wrote, “In April 2021 I received a call from #micorsoft with a job offer and I didn’t believe it. I didn’t tell anyone that I will work there. On 8th of May 2023 the day started with an urgent call saying I was laid off due to organisational changes and cost reduction due to economic status. It was a tough journey, working at #micorsoft was very challenging. I grew up in my career so fast in just two and half years.”

The woman then added that she was the youngest team member with no prior experience of the role. However, she was always eager to learn.

Talking about how people were telling her that she should not take layoffs personally as it is just the company’s decision, the woman wrote, “During the journey of my lay off, everyone was saying it’s not you, you are more than awesome in what you are doing and it never been you, it’s just the company decision and life is not fair; but it still hurt though.”

About Microsoft layoffs

Microsoft announced laying off 10,000 people in January this year. CEO Satya Nadella had called the move necessary at the time and had informed employees about the layoff in an email. More recently, a couple of days back, Microsoft fired 276 people based in Washington, USA. A GeekWire report revealed the number of people laid off and also said that the departments that were impacted include customer service, support, and sales. 66 of the fired employees were working virtually.

Talking about the layoffs, a spokesperson told CNBC, “Organisational and workforce adjustments are a necessary and regular part of managing our business. We will continue to prioritise and invest in strategic growth areas for our future and in support of our customers and partners.”