Microsoft is pulling out of hiring tech talent for its Windows, Office and Teams chat, and conferencing software groups.
“As Microsoft gets ready for the new fiscal year, it is making sure the right resources are aligned to the right opportunity. Microsoft will continue to grow headcount in the year ahead and it will add additional focus to where those resources go,” Microsoft said in a statement.
Microsoft’s decision is a response to the crisis affecting the global economy, including rising prices, supply chain problems, and spillover effects from the war in Ukraine.
Microsoft is not the only company to deviate from its earlier hiring decision. Other companies with similar decisions include Lyft, Snap, Uber, Meta, Salesforce and Coinbase. On Wednesday, software and graphics card maker Nvidia announced plans to slow the integration of new workers.
Personnel problems at Microsoft and a handful of other companies do not necessarily reflect the broader tech job market as a whole. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 11.5 million vacancies were available at the end of March. However, more than 4 million people quit their jobs in the last six months, indicating a massive skills shortage in the tech sector.
The sources for this piece include an article in ComputerWorld.