TLDR - I got fired instead of laid off. big tech is the devil.
Using a new account as I don’t want to dox myself. I was fired by Microsoft last month, a week before bonuses were to be paid. My manager scheduled a call titled “rewards discussion” where I was expected to be told what percent bonus I’d be getting. I was on LITE (what MSFT calls PIP) the first half of the year but I was taken off this in my last review with stellar feedback where he told me (and documented) I’d accomplished everything asked of me including measurable impact. His manager had previously told me if I was able to get off of LITE I shouldn’t be worried about long term ramifications as it would demonstrate impact and commitment. So I was expecting I’d get maybe 60% of my bonus eligibility and figured there was a chance I might be laid off with severance given all the layoffs they continue to have. I had 26 years tenure with a company that was acquired by Microsoft in 2022, and per my employment contract this tenure would count for any severance calculations.
As it turned out not only was I not getting bonus but he told me in this rewards discussion that I was being let go and also would receive no severance, and I am banned from working for Microsoft for 2 years. Totally blindsided me and my access was cut off immediately so I didn’t even have the chance to contact colleagues I’d worked with for 26 years. He offered no further explanation. I was prepared for the potential of getting laid off, but not this. It’s at will employment so I’m not guaranteed anything and there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do. I did have a subsequent call with HR that I pushed hard for (they initially ignored me) where they explained the reason I was fired and wasn’t being given any bonus or severance was because my manager gave me a 0 for annual rewards indicating I’d had no impact. After spending the last 6 months killing myself to demonstrate the impact necessary to get off of LITE I feel totally betrayed. I am sure my management team did this in order to repurpose my budget for others on the team as I do think the feedback in my last evaluation was representative of my contribution.
I can’t understand why they would take me off LITE and give me positive feedback only to turn around and give me a 0. I also can’t understand how a single poor rewards score from a manager I’ve worked for under a year warrants no severance after 26 years of service. I am the sole provider for my family, have a kid in college and a mortgage, and as we were acquired it’s not like I have a ton of money in the bank from years of working at Microsoft. It will obviously take me some time to find a new job where I’ll have to start all over, and given the current job market who knows when that might be.
I can understand why people snap. They essentially lied to me, blindsided me, and left me hung out to dry. As far as I’m concerned they stole from me, their “valued” employee. It’s completely inhumane and unethical, and totally against their stated values. I have gone from respecting Satya Nadella and Amy Hood to seeing them as the embodiment of the devil himself. I would understand if they decided I wasn’t a good fit for the team and let me go with a bonus indicative of my impact and severance in-line with my tenure, but this is straight up evil and assuming many others have received the same treatment likely they are skirting having to report even more layoffs than they already have.
Too much hiring during Covid
overspending on purchasing game studios
investing into AI infrastructure with nothing in return
reducing American workers, hiring offshore workers
moving from personal growth model to make profit fast model
Microsoft leadership has lost focus
Videos
3% of worldwide - about 6,000 people
workforcehttps://www.geekwire.com/2025/microsoft-cuts-nearly-3-of-global-workforce-about-6000-jobs-in-latest-push-for-efficiency/
Was anyone affected by the Microsoft layoffs? I was unfortunately let go (software engineer role).
I’ve been burnt out from working non stop since college and now thinking of pivoting from tech completely. Thinking of my next steps.
Looks like Microsoft is not stopping anytime soon
https://imgur.com/a/NXdtwH1
I've been a a Microsoft contractor, and I’ve seen Copilot getting embedded into everything: my email summaries, KB Articles, CRM pages (Copilot has been asked to guess which data entry fields to put data in, especially great for creating new records /sarcasm off), team notes—you name it. It's been turned on in most of the Microsof products and tools we use!
The writing on the wall is pretty clear: this is part of a push to automate as much as possible and reduce headcount. And while that might sound efficient, it’s also disheartening.
As a test, I asked both Copilot and ChatGPT to generate a stylized image based on a photo of me sitting at a restaurant.
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Copilot’s first attempt? A random cartoon man.
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Second attempt? A cartoon woman.
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ChatGPT? Nailed the composition, ambiance, pose, and details—on the first try.
I blurred my face in the reference photo for privacy, but everything else is untouched.
These tools aren’t just novelties—they’re now being used to justify massive layoffs, and yet they still can’t consistently follow simple visual prompts.
This is the future we’re heading toward. And many of us won’t be in it.
PS I love ChatGPT. :)
EDIT
Yes, I know image generation may not be it's strong suit, but I have tried all sorts of tasks with both and I can't tell you how frustrating Copilot is. I WANT it to succeed and we have the 00ber entrprise good good package. ChatGPT just gets it and Copilot I want to just pat on the head.
The examples were created by Copilot and ChatGPT within the last 30 days. I can't remember the exact prompt, but it wasn't complex and without a lot of variables, but the same was used for each.
https://www.trevornestor.com/post/the-problem-with-microsoft
I think that we all can agree it is time to unionize.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/15/programmers-bore-the-brunt-of-microsofts-layoffs-in-its-home-state-as-ai-writes-up-to-30-of-its-code/
Coders were hit hardest among Microsoft’s 2,000-person layoff in its home state of Washington, Bloomberg reports. Over 40% of the people laid off were in software engineering, making it by far the largest category
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/microsoft-layoffs-hit-its-silicon-valley-workforce/ar-AA1EQYy3
The tech giant, which is based in Washington but also has Bay Area offices, is cutting 122 positions in Silicon Valley. Software engineering roles made up 53% of Microsoft's job cuts in Silicon Valley
I wonder if there are enough jobs out there to absorb all of the laid off SWEs over the years?
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/microsoft-to-lay-off-as-many-as-9000-employees-in-latest-round/
Microsoft is kicking off its fiscal year by laying off thousands of employees in the largest round of layoffs since 2023, the company confirmed Wednesday.
In an ongoing effort to streamline its workforce, Microsoft said that as much as 4%, or roughly 9,000, of the company’s employees could be affected by Wednesday’s layoffs. It’s unclear how many are based in Washington.
The move follows two waves of layoffs in May and June, which saw Microsoft fire more than 6,000 employees, almost 2,300 of whom were based in Washington.
Microsoft had over 228,000 employees worldwide as of June 2024.
My friend just got laid off at Microsoft after five years, totally out of the blue. No warnings, just a cold calendar invite. His whole team was told they’re moving towards “AI-first” work and most regular devs are out. They’re being replaced with a smaller AI pod and pushing most coding to automated tools. He’s honestly shocked and angry because all the talk about “AI creating new jobs” feels like a joke right now. Anyone else running into this or seeing actual new roles open up after these layoffs?
In the wake of another round of layoffs at Microsoft, it’s time to talk about something deeper than numbers: the human cost of toxic management.
Employees aren’t just being let go — many are being driven out by a culture of psychological pressure, unrealistic expectations, and emotionally manipulative leadership.
“Growth mindset” vs. Gaslighting
What’s often sold as high-performance culture masks deeply unhealthy management practices. Deadlines are weaponized. Feedback becomes intimidation. “Accountability” means blaming the most vulnerable.
Psychological Pressure is Not Leadership
Many managers are pushing their teams to burnout under the guise of “excellence.” This isn't just poor leadership — it's emotionally abusive. Employees report sleepless nights, anxiety, and a constant fear of retaliation for speaking up.
Layoffs as a Management Tool
Layoffs are no longer a last resort. They’ve become a tool to trim “low performers” and employees targeted, envied, or resented by management.
Mental Health Matters
We must stop normalizing environments that erode psychological safety. No paycheck is worth chronic stress and emotional manipulation.
#Microsoft #Layoffs #ToxicLeadership #MentalHealth #CorporateCulture #Burnout #TechIndustry
When Satya Nadella became the CEO of microsoft, it was believed he will be different. He himself told in interviews about the importance of empathy. Where has the empathy suddenly disappeared?
https://deepseeks.medium.com/how-are-microsofts-january-2025-layoffs-different-for-the-worst-aa454f061315
Why is Microsoft behaving like service based companies who do not value their employees. It has labelled many good employees as low performers and then fired. How will this affect their careers?
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/02/microsoft-laying-off-about-9000-employees-in-latest-round-of-cuts.html
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I need help understanding this article on Inc.
https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/microsofts-xbox-ceo-just-explained-why-the-company-is-laying-off-9000-people-its-not-great/91209841
Between May and now Microsoft laid off 15,000 employees, stating, mainly, that the focus now is on AI. Some skeptics I’ve been talking to are telling me that this is just an excuse, that the layoffs are simply Microsoft hiding other reasons behind “AI First”. Can this be true? Can Microsoft be, say, having revenue/financial problems and is trying to disguise those behind the “AI First” discourse?
Are they outsourcing heavily? Or is it true that AI is taking over those 15,000 jobs? The Xbox business must demand a lot and a lot of programming (as must also be the case with most of Microsoft businesses. Are those programming and software design/engineering jobs being taken over by AI?
What I can’t fathom is the possibility that there were 15,000 redundant jobs at the company and that they are now directing the money for those paychecks to pay for AI infrastructure and won’t feel the loss of thee productivity those 15,00 jobs brought to the table unless someone (or something) else is doing it.
Any Microsoft people here can explain, please?
Hey everyone want to share my layoff story, SDE-2 working with Microsoft till May 2025 and I got laid off during first round off layoffs (oh yeah there was one before July layoffs). Its my first layoff in my 6 years SDE career. My life turned upside down as I have so many things going on and to make matters worse I am on Employment Visa in the US and got so depressed for the first few weeks with no direction. Then I accepted for what it is and started giving interviews which is not fun and I am not at all interview ready and companies these days expect the candidates to be have every skill thats known to a human being :). I faced rejections back to back and I kept grinding leetcode and system design for 3 months which is 100 worth. After 3 months of consistent prep I recently landed job with another FAANG company which pays a lot ... I mean a lot better than what I got paid at Msft. If someone is laid off don't lose hope, Job market is tough but keep your heads down and put the consistent effort much better offers are waiting for you than your previous company.