Microsoft CFO Amy Hood Expects Workforce Headcount to Decrease Amid Cost-Cutting Measures

Microsoft CFO Amy Hood has revealed that the software giant is expecting its workforce headcount to go down in the coming quarters. Speaking with analysts during an earnings conference call earlier this week, Amy Hood said "We continue to evolve how we operate to increase our pace and agility, and therefore we expect headcount will decrease year over year". Hood's comments come after the software giant cut thousands of jobs in recent quarters. Last month, Microsoft offered buyouts to its long-serving employees as a measure to cut costs. The buyout, according to reports, impacted around 7% of its US workforce. Before the earnings call, Amy Hood sent a memo to the Microsoft staff touting "increased pace" and "tighter, more accountable squads" amid recent organizational changes. According to a Business Insider report, the memo called out Microsoft cloud revenue at $54.5 billion for the quarter and AI revenue, which Hood said surpassed $37 billion in annual run rate, up 123% "Our quarterly results include clear examples of strong customer adoption and the progress we are making," Hood said, adding the fourth quarter was the company's "biggest quarter of the year". During the earnings call, Microsoft reported $83 billion quarterly revenue, while net income was $32 billion. Hood issued a 39% to 40% growth forecast for the company's Azure business in the earnings call. Microsoft announces its first-ever voluntary employee buyout As mentioned above, Microsoft announced its first voluntary employee buyout in the company's 51-year history. In an internal memo, Microsoft said that it is offering voluntary retirement to personnel whose years of service plus their age totals 70 or more. The one-time retirement program excludes some senior roles or those on sales incentive plans. Eligible employees and their managers will receive details on May 7. As of June 2025, the company had 228,000 employees, with 125,000 in the U.S. That would make about 8,750 workers eligible for the program. Microsoft is also reportedly adjusting the way it doles out stock to employees for annual rewards. The company will no longer make managers tie stock directly to cash bonuses. This way, "managers have more flexibility to meaningfully recognize high performance," Coleman wrote in the memo.