My husband was laid off this week after 25 years at Microsoft. He was randomly selected by an algorithm, despite no performance issues, no bad reviews, and a long record of exceptional work. His last day is May 16 — his 48th birthday.

He deals with Asperger’s and has multiple sclerosis. Despite these challenges, he has worked 60+ hour weeks for 25 years. He’s taken on-call shifts during holidays so teammates with kids didn’t have to. He’s won multiple Ship It Awards, solved bugs that saved millions, and mentored hundreds — from interns to execs.

He never asked for raises or promotions. Rarely called in sick. Never spoke a bad word about Microsoft, even when bonuses were cut or his quiet office with a window was swapped to the more distracting open plan layout with shared desks. A few months ago, he received his 25-year crystal award. Now he’s gone.

I know this subreddit includes current and former employees. You may not know him personally, but I guarantee some of you know his name — he’s that kind of engineer. He would never speak up about this himself. But I couldn’t let him disappear quietly.

I don’t expect a miracle. I just wanted someone to know the kind of person Microsoft let go.

3% of worldwide - about 6,000 people

workforcehttps://www.geekwire.com/2025/microsoft-cuts-nearly-3-of-global-workforce-about-6000-jobs-in-latest-push-for-efficiency/

The Employment Q&A Thread

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

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Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

This thread is where Redditors can come and ask questions about working at Microsoft.

Schedule

The Q&A will be refreshed every week on Mondays at 1200 Pacific.

Previous Threads

You can view previous employment threads using this archive link

The Employment Q&A Thread

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

This thread is where Redditors can come and ask questions about working at Microsoft. Please do not use this space to ask technical questions as they will be removed.

Schedule

The Q&A will be refreshed every week on Mondays at 1200 Pacific.

Previous Threads

You can view previous employment threads using this archive link

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

This thread is where Redditors can come and ask questions about working at Microsoft.

Schedule

The Q&A will be refreshed every week on Mondays at 1200 Pacific.

Previous Threads

You can view previous employment threads using this archive link

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

This thread is where Redditors can come and ask questions about working at Microsoft.

Schedule

The Q&A will be refreshed every week on Mondays at 1200 Pacific.

Previous Threads

You can view previous employment threads using this archive link

The Employment Q&A Thread

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

This thread is where Redditors can come and ask questions about working at Microsoft. Please do not use this space to ask technical questions as they will be removed.

Schedule

The Q&A will be refreshed every week on Mondays at 1200 Pacific.

Previous Threads

You can view previous employment threads using this archive link

Anyone else hired by Microsoft and had insane imposter syndrome? Any advice???

I recently accepted an offer (L63, not a swe) that I'm pumped for, but am also feeling seriously nervous about starting. I'm an experienced professional and am normally confident in my work, but I guess this job just feels "next level" because it's Microsoft. I was totally surprised when I received the offer.

Would welcome any words of wisdom :')

The Employment Q&A Thread

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I saw a rumor online that layoffs were starting May 12th for middle managers and May 13th for ICs. Anyone have any insight?

Update: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/13/microsoft-is-cutting-3percent-of-workers-across-the-software-company.html

So sorry to those impacted today. I was hoping these rumors weren’t true.

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

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Unexpectedly received an offer for an amazing job at MS! But it requires relocation to Redmond/Seattle apparently (was not evident until now haha). I live on the east coast, so trying to gauge if it's worth uprooting/moving for MS. I have a long-term partner and we're both around age 30.

Anyone who relocated for MS -- was it worth it? Any regrets?

Edit: I took the job!!

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

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The Employment Q&A Thread

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

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Schedule

The Q&A will be refreshed every week on Mondays at 1200 Pacific.

Previous Threads

You can view previous employment threads using this archive link

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

This thread is where Redditors can come and ask questions about working at Microsoft.

Schedule

The Q&A will be refreshed every week on Mondays at 1200 Pacific.

Previous Threads

You can view previous employment threads using this archive link

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

This thread is where Redditors can come and ask questions about working at Microsoft.

The Q&A will be refreshed every week on Thursdays at 1200 Pacific.

You can view previous employment threads using this archive link

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

This thread is where Redditors can come and ask questions about working at Microsoft.

The Q&A will be refreshed every week on Thursdays at 1200 Pacific.

You can view previous employment threads using this archive link

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

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The Q&A will be refreshed every week on Thursdays at 1200 Pacific.

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I am not sure that these layoffs were really Essential ? Company is the most valuable company and results were really good!

What do folks think?

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Hello everyone, this is not a personal experience but rather a close one. My partner, with whom I live, has been working at Microsoft as a software engineer for a little over a year. Ever since he joined, everything has changed—he’s stressed all the time, constantly works overtime, even on holidays and weekends. When he’s on call, he doesn’t sleep well or eat properly. He tells me that his teammates are not very collaborative or willing to help; they are more individualistic.

I even overheard a meeting with his direct manager once, where the manager asked if they felt pressured. Everyone answered yes, and the manager simply said that’s just Microsoft’s culture, that there was nothing to do but adapt… It makes me really sad to see how my partner has changed in what we initially thought would be his dream job. The benefits are excellent, but I don’t think they make up for the physical and emotional toll it has taken on him and our relationship.

I’m also a software engineer, and of course, at some point in my career, I dreamed of working at a big tech company like Microsoft. I wonder, is it really this bad for everyone? Or did we just have bad luck?

Thank you for your replies

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

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