'When people are not performing, we take the appropriate action,' spokesperson says
Underperforming employees at tech giant Microsoft are facing the chopping block as the organisation puts premium on "high-performing talent," according to various reports.
CNBC, citing an anonymous source, reported earlier this week that the job cuts will impact fewer than one per cent of its workforce.
The cuts come after months of evaluation of employees all the way up to level 80, reported Business Insider, which was the first to reveal the tech giant's plan.
According to Business Insider's sources, the cuts are happening across the organisation, including its security division.
"At Microsoft, we focus on high-performance talent," a spokesperson from the tech giant told the news outlets. "We are always working on helping people learn and grow. When people are not performing, we take the appropriate action."
Microsoft has around 228,000 full-time employees as of June 2024. The reported cuts come after the tech giant laid off 10,000 employees in early 2023.
It also laid off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees in early 2024, which was followed by around 650 more cuts in its gaming division in September, The Verge reported.
Underperformance refers to situations when an employee falls short of meeting the expectations and requirements of their role, impacting the quality of their output and eventually the company's performance.
Employers address workplace underperformers in various ways. In Hong Kong, its government proposed last year a new mechanism aimed at streamlining the process to terminate civil service officers with "persistently sub-standard" performances.
There are also other organisations that have been introducing tougher performance metrics to identify and reform underperforming staff.
Jennifer Moss, an award-winning writer and acclaimed keynote speaker, previously told HRD about cases when high-performing employees who start underperforming at work may be due to chronic stress.
"HR should be really digging into what is going on from a mental health standpoint and analysing the hygiene needs," Moss advised. "And if those are missing, and we can fix those, then we'll probably get that high performer back and just as passionate and as engaged as they were before."
