Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Declares Company Thriving, Three Weeks After 9,000 Layoffs

On July 24, 2025, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella published a statement three weeks after the massive layoffs that happened in the company. In it, the CEO shared his thoughts about the company’s future and doubled down on its integration with AI.

“Before anything else, I want to speak to what’s been weighing heavily on me, and what I know many of you are thinking about: the recent job eliminations,” Nadella said as he started the statement. He thanked those who had left and acknowledged their contributions to the company.

After that, he mentioned that in an “objective measure,” Microsoft is thriving in regards to its market performance, strategic positioning and growth. He added that the company’s “overall headcount is relatively unchanged” despite the company firing 9,000 employees just three weeks ago.

He also doubled down on the use of AI, as he mentioned that Microsoft’s three business priorities are security, quality and AI transformation. He added that “getting both the product and platform right for the AI wave is our North Star!”

Nadella finished his statement, talking about the company’s culture and mentioning that success is not about longevity but about relevance. “Our future won’t be defined by what we’ve built before, but by what we empower others to build now,” he added.

Microsoft’s huge layoffs early this month have impacted its gaming divisions, with games such as Perfect Dark Reboot and Everwild getting canceled. In addition to that, Blizzard’s Warcraft Rumble is entering maintenance mode right after the announcement of the layoffs. Finally, fired King employees are reportedly being replaced by the AI tools they helped develop, according to several sources.