Microsoft layoffs: Following the latest round of job cuts by Google Amazon and Meta another US-based tech giant is likely to commence job cuts in order to reform the companys organizational and hierarchical structure. According to reports Microsoft may begin layoffs as early as next month (May 2025) amid efforts by the tech titan to streamline its structure and boost efficiency. The job cuts are likely to focus on middle management positions as Microsoft is making efforts to balance the number of engineers with non-technical roles in project teams a strategy which has also been employed lately by Amazon and Google reports said. Why are Microsoft layoffs happening? As per reports the primary reason behind the expected round of Microsoft layoffs is the companys new policy of reducing number of product managers (PMs) and program managers (PMs) in project teams while increasing the number of engineers. Thus Microsoft aims to have more engineers in their teams compared to managers or non-technical staff. The move is aimed to downsize the companys bureaucratic structure in order to achieve greater efficiency and speed up innovation as per reports. According to experts Microsoft is focusing on improving the companys Builder Ratio a concept pioneered by Amazon that tracks engineers and non-technical staff in a company and focuses on having more of the former in its ranks. Reports suggest that Microsoft’s security division led by Charlie Bell is aiming for a more extreme ratio as it wants just one product manager for 10 engineers compared to the current 5.5 to 1 ratio. How many Microsoft employees will lose jobs? While Microsoft layoffs are almost a certainty at this point however its unclear how many employees will get the axe in the upcoming round of job cuts. Earlier this year Microsoft had laid off 2000 employees citing poor performance and the next round of layoffs is likely to target those deemed as lower performers according to the company. Experts believe Microsoft is expected to rely on its performance review system the ManageRewards slider to decide the fate of its employees. Notably Microsofts expected layoffs follow a growing trend in the tech industry with fellow titans such as Amazon Google and Meta recently employing a similar policy to reshape their organizational structure and boosting efficiency. In December last year CEO Sundar Pichai had announced job cuts that focused on reducing overhead.