Microsoft is preparing to cut around 5,500 jobs, impacting less than 2.5% of its global workforce, as it continues shifting billions of dollars towards artificial intelligence (AI). The planned cuts, which could be announced as early as next week, are expected to affect several business units including sales, consulting and the Xbox gaming division. Based on its headcount of about 228,000 employees as of 30 June, that would amount to roughly 5,500 jobs. Some affected employees could be offered alternative roles within Microsoft after the announcement. This follows previous rounds of job cuts, including about 6,000 employees and another reduction of roughly 9,000 jobs in July 2025. This round is expected to be smaller after many eligible US employees accepted a voluntary retirement programme introduced earlier this year. The company invested more than $100 billion in AI and cloud projects during the 2026 financial year. The expected job cuts have revived criticism of Microsoft's continued hiring of foreign workers through the H1-B visa programme, with one viral post on X claiming the company has remained among the six largest H-1B sponsors in US since 2020 despite reducing its domestic workforce.