"On January 18, 2023, Microsoft Corporation announced to its employees a series of actions it is taking in response to macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities. These actions include workforce reductions of approximately 10,000 employees by the end of the third fiscal quarter of 2023, changes to our hardware portfolio, and lease consolidation to create higher density across our workspaces," the US Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement.   

"Collectively these actions will result in a charge of $1.2 billion in the second quarter of our 2023 fiscal year, representing a $0.12 negative impact to diluted earnings per share," the statement added.      

Earlier, it was reported that Microsoft was laying off thousands of employees to cut 5 per cent of its workforce. 

Thousands of job cuts are expected in human resources and engineering divisions on Wednesday, Reuters reported citing Sky News.      

The layoffs would be the latest in the US technology sector, where companies including Amazon.com Inc and Meta Platforms Inc have announced retrenchment exercises in response to slowing demand and a worsening global economic outlook.      

The company had 221,000 full-time employees, including 122,000 in the United States and 99,000 internationally, as of June 30, according to filings.      

Microsoft is under pressure to maintain growth rates at its cloud unit Azure, after several quarters of the downturn in the personal computer market hurt Windows and devices sales, Reuters reported. -- ANI