Earlier this month,Microsoft underwent mass layoffs of around 9,100 employees. This directly resulted in the cancellation of several in-development projects, and some studios almost shutting down. This has been going on over the last two years, but according to chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, “Microsoft is thriving”.
It seems that the company has been doing well on paper, but that has always been the case with multinational corporations. On two separate occasions, we’ve reportedNadella enjoying a pay rise,while employees have been getting laid off. In a recentblog post, he has illustrated that while the layoffs were an “enigma”, the company has been achieving its goals.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Recommits To AI After Mass Layoffs
After a few lines about how difficult it was for Microsoft to let go of people that they’ve worked closely with, Nadella went on to say, “By every objective measure, Microsoft is thriving”. It doesn’t take a lot to see the disconnect here. He added that the market performance, strategic positioning, and growth is all on an upward trend. Some more corporate jargon was thrown in before he brought up layoffs again.
However, the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world couldn’t figure this one out. “This is the enigma of success in an industry that has no franchise value,” he said. But it’s also a new opportunity for us to shape, lead through, and have greater impact than ever before."
Again, this is followed by a string of corporate buzzwords. “Our differentiation will come from how we bring these layers together to deliver end-to-end experiences and products, with the core ethos of a platform company that fosters ecosystem opportunity broadly” – whatever that means.
“The AI wave is our North Star!” he surmised in the blog post, which feels like it was written by a robot pretending to have emotions.
