Microsoft profits soar days after announcing thousands of layoffs

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorMicrosoft just posted a profit of more than thirty-six point six billion dollars, days after announcing thousands of layoffs, and that's the whole story in one sentence.

2. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentOkay, so the company is doing great and people are leaving. Who's leaving, and is it by choice?

3. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorMicrosoft offered buyouts to about sixty thousand employees, roughly a quarter of its workforce, and it expects only a small fraction to accept.

4. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentA quarter of the company got the invite.

5. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorMicrosoft says it gives the firm greater flexibility, and lets workers leave with financial support and career-planning resources.

6. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentFlexibility for who, though? When a company says it's more flexible, the company's the one stretching.

7. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorFair question. Now, how'd we get here? Revenue for the quarter hit ninety-two point three billion dollars, up nineteen percent, according to the SJV Sun.

8. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentNineteen percent up and still cutting. What's driving it?

9. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorCloud and AI.

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    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorAzure sales rose forty-eight percent to thirty-three point two billion dollars, and Microsoft spent forty-five point two billion on capital spending, mostly data centers for AI.

11. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo the money goes to buildings for the AI, and the people are the ones getting the buyout.

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    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorAnd this isn't the first round.

13. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorEarlier this year Microsoft cut roughly forty-eight hundred jobs and twenty percent of its Xbox workforce, and closed some game studios.

14. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentOuch.

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    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorWho does this hit? Employees first, and anyone who plays Xbox games from those studios.

16. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorI just want to know what a regular worker is supposed to do with a buyout.

17. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentTake it or stay. Microsoft only expects a small fraction to leave, so it's a huge offer that most people are supposed to ignore.

18. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorCritics see it differently. One commentary from Liberation News says bosses are making workers pay for an AI gamble.

19. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThat's a pointed headline. What's the evidence?

20. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorThat commentary says CEO Satya Nadella's pay was reported at ninety point six million dollars last fiscal year, four hundred twenty-one times the median employee.

21. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentAnd what does the company say?

22. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorNadella says AI has delivered, quote, real-world impact across every industry. The company says the buyouts give it greater flexibility and let workers leave with support.

23. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentImpact across every industry. Including this one, apparently.

24. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorWhat happens next? We'll see how many of the sixty thousand actually accept, and whether more cuts follow.

25. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorSo, one more time: soaring profit, a quarter of the staff offered a way out, and the money going into AI data centers.

26. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSixty thousand people got an invite, and the data centers got the plus-one.