Group 1 - Microsoft announced a new round of layoffs, cutting approximately 9,000 employees, which is less than 4% of its total workforce, as part of its organizational restructuring at the beginning of the 2026 fiscal year [1] - This marks the fourth round of layoffs in 2023, with a total of nearly 16,000 employees laid off in just six months, following earlier cuts in January, May, and June [1][2] - The restructuring aims to reduce middle management levels to enhance organizational responsiveness and execution efficiency, particularly in the gaming division [1] Group 2 - Despite ongoing personnel adjustments, Microsoft reported strong financial performance, with revenues of $70 billion and net profits of nearly $26 billion for the third fiscal quarter of 2025, exceeding Wall Street expectations [4] - The company anticipates a year-over-year revenue growth of approximately 14% for the June quarter, driven by robust growth in Azure cloud services and enterprise software subscriptions [4] - The layoffs at Microsoft reflect a broader trend of contraction in the U.S. tech industry, with other companies like Google, Amazon, and Meta also implementing similar workforce reductions to streamline operations and improve efficiency [4][5]