The company behind Windows announced on Thursday May 26 that it wants to slow down the pace of hiring, reports Bloomberg. This decision stems from an uncertain economic situation for the second half of 2022. The tech sector is particularly concerned about the consequences of the war in Ukraine and inflation.
Hires will need to be approved by Microsoft management
Microsoft’s financial results in the first quarter of 2022 resulted in a slight increase in revenue of 18% compared to the previous year. The cloud has been a buoyant market for the company during the covid-19 pandemic. With the end of the health crisis and the start of the war in Ukraine, the company is concerned about the evolution of the economic situation for its next fiscal year which starts in July.
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Internally, Microsoft communicated on its new strategy to minimize risks. According to a company spokesperson interviewed by Bloomberg, the firm will slow down the pace of recruitment of its group dedicated to software. This division, headed by Microsoft Vice President Rajesh Jha, is responsible for the development of Windows, the Office suite and the Teams application.
Each new hiring in this branch dedicated to software will have to be approved directly by the vice-president. Previously, executive approval was not required. A spokesperson explains that: Microsoft will continue to recruit in the coming year, but will pay more attention to the allocation of resources within the company. She wants to make sure the right people are properly assigned to the right opportunities. »
The branch dedicated to video games could grow
Other American companies have made the same decision. At the beginning of May, Mark Zuckerberg announced that he wanted to reduce the rate of recruitment in response to the stagnation of turnover at Meta. Mixed results caused in part by the war in Ukraine which impacts social networks like Facebook.
If the Redmond firm does not intend to invest more in its software division, it wants to grow its video game branch. The historic buyout of Activision-Blizzard for $69 billion still has to be approved by the Federal Trade Commission, the US competition watchdog. Sales of the Xbox console increased by 14% at the start of 2022, allowing Microsoft to consolidate its position in the video game sector, which has become a priority.