Microsoft laying off 3% of all workers

Microsoft on Tuesday said that it’s laying off 3% of employees across all levels and geographies.   The number of jobs getting cut is approximately 6,000. 

“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.

The company reported better-than-expected results and an upbeat quarterly forecast in late April.

Microsoft had 228,000 employees worldwide at the end of June, meaning that the move will affect thousands of employees.

It’s likely Microsoft’s largest round of layoffs since the elimination of 10,000 roles in 2023. In January the company announced a small round of layoffs that were performance-based. These new job cuts are not related to performance, the spokesperson said.

CrowdStrike lays off 500 or 5% of staff

Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. is cutting 500 jobs, or about 5% of its workforce, as it responds to both the security threat posed by artificial intelligence and the growing use of AI to move faster and operate more efficiently.

(Reuters) -CrowdStrike (CRWD) reiterated its fiscal 2026 first quarter and annual forecasts on Wednesday and announced a plan to cut about 500 roles, roughly 5% of its workforce, to reduce costs.

The cybersecurity company will incur about $36 million to $53 million in charges related to the layoffs, of which about $7 million will be recognized in the first quarter ended April 30, it said in a regulatory filing.

The Austin, Texas-based company said the rest of the charges will be seen in the second quarter. The charges primarily consist of future cash expenditure related to severance payments, employee benefits and related costs.

CrowdStrike had 10,118 full-time employees as of January 31, according to its annual report.

UPS cutting around 20,000 jobs; 164 buildings closing

The United Parcel Service (UPS) is expected to reduce its workforce by roughly 20,000 during 2025, citing "new or increased tariffs" and "changes in general economic conditions in the U.S. or internationally" for the cuts.

UPS announced the layoffs April 29 in its first quarter earnings report, in which the parcel delivery service said it made consolidated revenues of $21.5 billion, compared to $21.7 billion around the same time a year ago. The shipping company also said it would be closing roughly 164 facilities by the end of the year.

Consolidation efforts for UPS come as President Donald Trump's looming tariffs continue to impact U.S. and global trade, as companies across the country are reducing costs in preparation for a possible economic fallout. In 2024, UPS employed around 490,000 people worldwide, including about 330,000 Teamsters-represented jobs in the U.S.

UPS reducing Amazon delivery volume by 50%: CFO

For UPS specifically, it cautioned in January that it was expediting its plan to reduce millions of deliveries for its largest customer, Amazon.com, which accounted for 11.8% of its overall revenue in 2024, CNBC reported.

Lyondell Basell Industries to lay off 345 workers

HOUSTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Lyondell Basell Industries (LYB) will lay off 345 workers, or 86% of the workforce, at its shuttered Houston refinery on April 17, according to a filing with the Texas Workforce Commission.

There are around 400 Lyondell employees working at the 263,776 barrel-per-day Houston refinery. About 70% of them are hourly workers represented by the United Steelworkers union (USW).

Reuters reported on February 18 that Lyondell Houston refinery layoffs were expected to begin in mid-April.

 

The workforce reduction comes after Lyondell completed the shutdown of the Houston refinery earlier this month, people familiar with plant operations told Reuters.

Houston Refining is one of the largest refineries in the United States designed to process heavy-sulfur crude oil, according to the company.