Unfortunately, Microsoft is the latest tech company to announce an abundance of layoffs over the last year. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, stated in a regulatory online filing that the company is “seeing organizations in every industry and geography exercise caution as some parts of the world are in a recession and other parts are anticipating one.” The cuts represent a little less than 5 percent of Microsoft’s global workforce of 221,000 employees. The company began notifying affected workers today (Jan. 18) and plans to complete the layoffs by Q3, according to the note. It was not clear which divisions would see cuts.

“It’s important to note that while we are eliminating roles in some areas, we will continue to hire in key strategic areas. We know this is a challenging time for each person impacted,” Nadella stated. “The senior leadership team and I are committed that as we go through this process, we will do so in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible.”

Like other major tech companies, Microsoft embarked on ultra-rapid hiring during the global pandemic. Since 2019, Microsoft has hired about 75,000 workers. But now, as Nadella noted in his message to employees, customers are doing more with less, just as many experts predict a broader economic slowdown in 2023. “These are the kinds of hard choices we have made throughout our 47-year history to remain a consequential company in this industry that is unforgiving to anyone who doesn’t adapt to platform shifts,” Nadella said, adding that the company will continue to hire in “strategic areas.”

You can read Satya Nadella’s memo to the Microsoft staff here.