Hiring and acquisitions boosted employment to record levels at Microsoft as of the end of the company’s recent fiscal year, a new regulatory filing shows.
Microsoft had 221,000 employees as of June 30, an increase of 40,000 people or 22% from the same point the prior year, according to data included in the company’s annual Form 10K filing with the SEC.
It was the largest annual increase in employment in Microsoft’s history, based on data tracked by GeekWire.
The employment growth includes about 6,500 employees added through the company’s $19.7 billion acquisition of Nuance Communications, which was completed in March; plus about 1,500 employees added through the acquisition of Xandr, the former AT&T advertising technology division, finalized in May.
The numbers do not reflect cutbacks made by Microsoft in early July, which were reported at the time to amount to less than 1% of the company’s workforce. Based on the latest data from the company, the number of positions cut appears to be in the range of 1,700 to 2,000 employees. Microsoft has also eliminated open positions.
Microsoft’s rapid growth last fiscal year reflected the optimism that many tech companies and other businesses were feeling as the economy began to recover from pandemic lockdowns. However, that has been followed by a new wave of economic uncertainty, as companies rein in spending across a variety of industries.
Amy Hood, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, told analysts and investors this week that the company “will moderate materially over the course of the year as we slow the rate of hiring to focus on key growth areas.”
One notable effect of the growth is that Microsoft now employs more people in operations, about 85,000 employees as of June 30, than in product research and development, about 73,000 employees, according to its latest filing. The two job categories were of similar size inside the company until about two years ago.
The company added 21,000 employees internationally in the past year, up 27%, bringing the total to 99,000 employees outside the United States. Domestically, the company added 19,000 employees, up 18%, growing to 122,000 employees inside the U.S.
