Latest news with #MicrosoftBuild
Geek Wire
4 days ago
- Business
- Geek Wire
Microsoft cuts another 4% of its workforce, about 9,000 jobs, in continued push for efficiency
Awaiting Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at the Microsoft Build conference in May. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop) Microsoft will eliminate about 4% of its global workforce — approximately 9,000 jobs in all — not just in games and sales as previously reported but across the company, Impacted employees are being notified Wednesday morning, across different levels, teams, geographies and tenure. The cuts are part of a broader efficiency drive that already reduced the tech giant's employee base by 3% in May, affecting about 6,000 workers in that prior round. Microsoft again declined to directly link the reductions to artificial intelligence. But earlier reports indicated that software engineers bore the brunt of the previous cuts — a pattern that coincides with the company's heavy investments in AI tools that automate coding tasks. As with the earlier layoffs, a company spokesperson said Microsoft is continuing to implement 'organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace.' The latest cuts follow the June 30 close of the company's fiscal year. Microsoft traditionally makes cuts and restructures operations this time of year as it prepares for its new fiscal year, but it's unusual to see such sizable cutbacks in multiple rounds so close together. Microsoft is 'building high-performing teams and increasing our agility by reducing layers with fewer managers,' said Amy Hood, Microsoft's CFO, on an April 30 earnings call. The company is simultaneously spending record sums — as much as $80 billion in the recently completed fiscal year — to expand its data centers and cloud infrastructure to meet AI demand. As part of the prior cuts, Microsoft laid off nearly 2,300 workers in Washington state in multiple rounds, the largest layoffs in its home state since 2023, when it cut more than 3,000 jobs. Its latest layoff numbers for Washington state — and details on the types of positions impacted — will likely emerge later today through a company filing with state employment officials. Microsoft Employees By Category Microsoft Employees By Category Operations Product R&D Sales & Marketing General & Admin Source: Microsoft 10K filings. GeekWire graphic by Microsoft employed around 54,000 people in the Seattle region before the latest reductions, part of a workforce that numbered about 228,000 people as of June 2024. The company is scheduled to report its new employment numbers with its annual SEC filing in a few weeks. The latest layoffs are part of a broader wave of tech industry cuts in 2025. Technology companies have announced 76,214 job cuts this year, up 27% from the same period last year, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The firm cited disruptions from AI advancement and visa uncertainties as key factors driving tech layoffs. Overall, U.S. employers have announced 744,308 job cuts in 2025, the highest total since 2020. Microsoft sales chief Judson Althoff, the company's chief commercial officer, is taking a two-month sabbatical, according to a Bloomberg News report this week.
Skift
5 days ago
- Business
- Skift
Microsoft Build Joins Wave of Tech Conferences Leaving Longtime Host Cities
Microsoft's decision to move its flagship developer event out of Seattle marks a significant shift for the company and the city's events economy. The new location for Build 2026 has yet to be announced. Microsoft is ending its nearly decade-long run of hosting the Build developer conference in Seattle, signaling a potential shift in the company's event strategy and adding to a growing trend of tech events leaving traditional host cities. The most recent Build conference was held May 19–22 at the Seattle Convention Center. It drew 3,200 in-person attendees and more than 100,000 participants online. Build, which launched in 2011, has taken place in Seattle since 2017 and has regularly attracted tens of thousands of developers, engineers, and technology partners. 'Our plans for Build 2026 have changed, our vision to empower builders and developers at a major event next year remains the same,' a Microsoft spokesperson said. 'We thank the city and the community for their support over the years.' Microsoft Build Conference Important to Seattle Visit Seattle did not respond to a request for comment. According to industry estimates, the event has generated roughly 9,300 hotel room nights per year, an economic impact the city will now lose. Seattle's proximity to Microsoft's Redmond headquarters made it a logistically convenient location for the company's engineers and executives. While Microsoft has not disclosed the reason for the move, a spokesperson said it was not related to conditions or experiences during this year's event. In addition, the spokesperson said, 'We do not have anything further to share about our plans for Build 2026.' Shift in Tech Event Geography Microsoft is not alone in changing the location of its flagship gathering. Across the tech industry, companies are re-evaluating how and where they host major events, driven by rising costs, shifting audience expectations, and strategic goals around reach and visibility. HubSpot's INBOUND conference, held in Boston since its launch in 2012, will move to San Francisco for a one-time edition. The event is scheduled for Sept. 3–5 at Moscone Center. HubSpot said the change reflects feedback from a growing global community and an effort to meet customers where they are. The plan is for the conference to return to Boston in 2026. The 2024 event at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, attracted approximately 12,000 attendees. Other major tech conferences have made more permanent changes. Google Cloud Next relocated from San Francisco to Las Vegas in 2024, with events now confirmed at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center through at least 2026. Oracle also moved its flagship CloudWorld conference from San Francisco to Las Vegas after its 2022 event. This year's edition will take place Oct. 13–16 at The Venetian Conference and Expo Center. Canva shifted its annual Canva Create conference from Sydney to Los Angeles in 2024. Held at Hollywood Park—home to SoFi Stadium and the YouTube Theater—the event drew more than 4,500 attendees, with 100 speakers and 60 sessions. Apple, meanwhile, has transitioned its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) to a primarily digital format since 2020. While the event remains free and globally accessible online, Apple now includes a limited in-person experience at its Cupertino campus. Attendance is by invitation or lottery and capped at a small number of developers, students, and media. What It Means Microsoft's departure from Seattle reflects a larger redefinition of how tech companies engage developer and partner communities. As event formats, audiences, and expectations evolve, even long-standing location ties are no longer guaranteed. For destination marketers and convention centers, the message is clear: competition for major conferences is intensifying, and loyalty to place is giving way to flexibility, scale, and strategic alignment.
Hans India
09-06-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Satya Nadella's Advice for Aspiring Tech Professionals: Master the Basics to Stay Ahead of AI
In a world rapidly reshaped by artificial intelligence, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella believes that one skill remains irreplaceable — strong fundamentals. In a recent interview with tech YouTuber Sajjaad Khade, Nadella emphasized that despite AI's increasing role in software development, it still depends heavily on the developer's ability to think logically and design systems effectively. 'Just getting real fundamentals of software (if you're a software engineer), I think, matters a lot,' Nadella stated. 'To me, having the ability to think computationally (is important).' Nadella was responding to a question from Khade on what single piece of advice he would give to those starting a tech career in today's AI-dominated landscape. He underlined the importance of learning to structure problems and think like a software architect — roles that AI can assist with, but not replace. "The path to being that software architect gets speeded up," Nadella noted. "All of us are going to be more software architects." Illustrating his point with a personal story, Nadella recounted an experience using GitHub Copilot — Microsoft's AI-powered coding assistant — to solve a tricky bug in his own code. He was developing a feature that used a percentile filter and realized he needed to recall SQL concepts to resolve the issue effectively. "Except I was thinking about it, it was a pretty cool issue, right? The issue was I did a filter, which was basically a percentile... creating a feature. But then I said, 'Oh man, this is, like, you know, I could, you know, recount what is a SQL, right?'" This, he explained, is the future of software development — a collaborative relationship between human intuition and AI automation. While AI handles repetitive and mechanical parts of coding, humans must still guide the design, structure, and purpose of software systems. Nadella also revealed that AI already writes a large share of Microsoft's code. 'I'd say maybe 20 per cent, 30 percent of the code that is inside of our repos today and some of our projects are probably all written by software,' he said during a previous conversation with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Beyond product development, Nadella has committed to preparing the next generation for this evolving reality. At Microsoft Build, he spoke about 'agentic AI,' a concept redefining the technology stack and unlocking new developer opportunities. In line with that vision, Microsoft has launched a major initiative in India aimed at training 500,000 students, educators, developers, and entrepreneurs by 2026. Partnering with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the initiative includes the creation of an AI Centre of Excellence called 'AI Catalysts' and the establishment of 20 AI productivity labs in National Skill Training Institutes and NIELIT centres across ten Indian states. The goal: train 20,000 educators and foster a community of 100,000 AI developers, especially in rural and underrepresented areas. Nadella's message is clear — AI is transforming how we build software, but human creativity, logic, and a strong grasp of the basics are what will continue to set successful developers apart.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Agentic AI vendors target developers with early releases
Numerous agentic AI solutions have hit the market in recent weeks, and vendors of the autonomous software systems which perform tasks on behalf of users are squarely focused on the developer community. More than any other technology, since the advent of intelligent process automation and robotic process automation, agentic AI promises to unleash the next generation of automation which will unclog the operational provisioning complexities associated with app modernisation. Application platform providers are targeting developers for two reasons: application platform providers can quickly transform their AI assistants and copilots used largely for code generation into autonomous AI agents, attractive for their ability to automate more tasks and speed the application lifecycle; and, the ease to which these new agents help streamline new workflow automations provides developers with greater access to AI and data-driven technology previously out of reach due to a lack of expertise. As a result, developers are heavily sought after by vendors and service providers rolling out new AI agent tools and platforms. Examples of this trend have played out in the last few weeks. During its Microsoft Build conference, Microsoft rolled out an upgrade of its popular Copilot AI assistant, enhanced through an autonomous coding agent which integrates with GitHub products. At the time of the announcement Microsoft reminded the industry that it is able to target an army of 15 million GitHub Copilot developers, implying that those coders just might be interested in seizing the opportunity to upskill into agentic AI. Late last year, Microsoft revealed a public preview of autonomous agents through Copilot Studio. Now developers can access new agentic capabilities, including 'agent mode,' and 'code review,' to streamline app development, deployment, and troubleshooting. At the same time, new capabilities have been added to Azure AI Foundry Agent Service to help pro developers orchestrate multiple specialised agents. Similarly, during its conference, Pegasystems announced agentic AI features within its flagship Pega Infinity App Studio to ease the development process by injecting AI into learning, design, integration, user experience, and testing of the application lifecycle. The idea, once again, is to speed the app development process through agentic capabilities which include detailed instructions, best practices' guidance, and streamlined integrations through automated third-party connections. Ultimately, the release of these enhanced developer platforms open up new opportunities for developers, through enhanced automation of app development processes to help ease the problematic application lifecycle phase of moving new application architectures into production. This is the phase of app modernisation which DevOps teams have struggled with for years, and the primary barrier of adoption of digital transformations. Overcoming those barriers is the promise of AI agents. "Agentic AI vendors target developers with early releases" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Errore nel recupero dei dati Effettua l'accesso per consultare il tuo portafoglio Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati
India Today
08-06-2025
- Business
- India Today
Satya Nadella reveals the one skill you need to beat AI and land your first tech job
In an era where artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the software industry, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has a clear message for those aiming to break into tech: Never underestimate the power of strong fundamentals. In a recent chat with popular tech YouTuber Sajjaad Khade, Nadella offered a dose of grounded advice for beginners hoping to make their mark in the tech world. Despite AI's growing capabilities, he believes that foundational computational thinking and system design skills remain critical. "Just getting real fundamentals of software (if you're a software engineer), I think, matters a lot," Nadella said. "To me, having the ability to think computationally (is important)."advertisementKhade posed the question and asked Nadella what one piece of advice he would offer someone just starting out in today's AI-driven software landscape. Nadella highlighted that while AI can assist in coding, it still relies heavily on the user's ability to think logically and offer structured guidance."The path to being that software architect gets speeded up," he explained. "All of us are going to be more software architects." Nadella used a personal anecdote to underline his point. He recalled how he recently encountered a bug in his code and resolved it using GitHub Copilot, an AI-powered coding assistant. "Except I was thinking about it, it was a pretty cool issue, right? The issue was I did a filter, which was basically a percentile... creating a feature. But then I said, 'Oh man, this is, like, you know, I could, you know, recount what is a SQL, right?'"advertisementThis balance between human insight and AI-powered assistance, Nadella argues, is what the future of coding looks like. While AI will continue to handle more repetitive and mechanical tasks, the core responsibilities of structuring problems and designing coherent systems will fall to fact, the extent to which AI has already penetrated Microsoft's own software development process is striking. In a conversation with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier this year, Nadella revealed that AI currently writes a significant portion of Microsoft's code."I'd say maybe 20 per cent, 30 per cent of the code that is inside of our repos today and some of our projects are probably all written by software," he also spotlighted the concept of "agentic AI" during his keynote at Microsoft Build last month. According to him, "The agentic web is reshaping the entire tech stack, and we are creating new opportunities for devs at every layer."His commitment to preparing future tech professionals isn't limited to philosophy and product development. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced a major initiative in India as part of its broader global AI strategy. In partnership with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the company has pledged to skill 500,000 students, educators, developers, government officials, and women entrepreneurs across the country by elements of this partnership include the establishment of an AI Centre of Excellence named "AI Catalysts," aimed at nurturing rural innovation and empowering a growing community of 100,000 AI developers. Furthermore, Microsoft will set up 20 AI productivity labs in National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) and NIELIT centres across ten Indian states, designed to train 20,000 educators in core AI hands-on skilling push aligns with Nadella's emphasis on mastering the fundamentals. As AI continues to grow more sophisticated, those who pair a strong technical foundation with the ability to collaborate effectively with AI tools are the ones most likely to if you're planning to venture into tech, take it from Nadella, AI might write the code, but it's human ingenuity that still defines what that code should do.
