Microsoft has filed 6 WARN notices in Washington, affecting 3,807 workers total. All filings were classified as layoffs rather than closures. Filing dates range from May 13, 2025 through Jul 6, 2026. Microsoft provided an average of 60 days notice before the effective date of these filings. The May 13, 2025 filing for 1,985 workers in Redmond is the third largest filed in Washington in 2025 and larger than 99 percent of WARN filings nationally. Redmond accounts for 78% of affected workers.
Microsoft is a technology company founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975, headquartered in Redmond, Washington. The company builds Windows, Office, Azure cloud services, Xbox, LinkedIn, and a growing portfolio of AI products. Microsoft employs roughly 228,000 people worldwide and is one of the most valuable public companies by market capitalization.
Microsoft went through a major restructuring in 2014 when it cut 18,000 jobs, mostly tied to the Nokia phone business acquisition. In January 2023, CEO Satya Nadella announced 10,000 job cuts, about 5% of the workforce, citing macroeconomic conditions and the need to realign investment toward AI. Smaller rounds continued through 2024 and 2025, including cuts in the Xbox gaming division and corporate functions. The company has generally combined layoffs in lower-priority areas with simultaneous hiring in AI and cloud.
Microsoft nearly missed the mobile platform shift entirely, with Windows Phone failing to compete against iOS and Android. The company recovered by pivoting to cloud computing under Nadella's leadership starting in 2014, building Azure into the second-largest cloud platform globally. Microsoft's early and aggressive partnership with OpenAI, beginning with a $1 billion investment in 2019, positioned it ahead of most competitors in generative AI.
Microsoft is investing tens of billions annually in AI infrastructure, including data centers and custom AI chips. Its integration of OpenAI's technology into products like Copilot (across Office, Windows, and GitHub) represents the company's largest product transformation since the cloud shift. Azure remains the primary growth engine, with AI services driving increasing cloud revenue.
Last reviewed 2026-04-15| Location | State | Type | Workers | Effective | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redmond | WA | Layoff | 605 larger than 97% of filings |
2026-09-04 | 2026-07-06 |
| Redmond | WA | Layoff | 42 | 2025-11-07 | 2025-09-08 |
| Redmond | WA | Layoff | 40 | 2025-10-03 | 2025-08-04 |
| Not Provided | WA | Layoff | 830 larger than 99% of filings |
2025-08-31 | 2025-07-02 |
| Redmond | WA | Layoff | 305 | 2025-08-01 | 2025-06-02 |
| Redmond | WA | Layoff | 1,985 larger than 99% of filings |
2025-07-12 | 2025-05-13 |
Microsoft has an upcoming layoff effective Sep 4, 2026. If you are affected, you remain employed with regular pay and benefits until the effective date. Use this time to prepare: file for unemployment insurance so your claim is ready when your last day arrives, review your COBRA health coverage options, and visit your local America's Job Center for free career counseling and retraining vouchers. Ask about Rapid Response services, which are specifically designed for WARN-affected workers.
Apply online at your state workforce agency. You may be eligible before your last day.
Continue your employer health plan for up to 18 months, or compare lower-cost options on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Employers with 100 or more employees must give 60 days written notice before mass layoffs or plant closings.
Free career counseling, resume help, job search assistance, and retraining programs through CareerOneStop.
Interview prep, job search management, and career planning tools to help you land your next role.
America's Job Centers offer free career counseling, resume help, interview prep, job search assistance, and retraining vouchers for workers affected by WARN Act layoffs. Ask about Rapid Response services.
All data on this site is sourced from official WARN Act filings published by state workforce agencies. Filings are updated regularly but may not reflect same-day submissions. Coverage varies by state.
2 outlets have covered this, between 2026-08-18 and 2026-08-31.
Across 6 filings where both a notice date and a layoff date are published, the median gap was 60 days. All of them met the 60 days the WARN Act requires.
Notice length matters when a severance agreement lands, because most agreements ask you to waive WARN claims. How the notice period changes what severance is worth.
Severance is negotiable more often than people assume, and the leverage is largest before a notice lands. Financial Samurai's How To Engineer Your Layoff walks through how those conversations actually go, with real severance examples.
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