Insiders said that Girish Bablani, president of the Azure division, has recently instructed executives of a team with about 11,500 employees to find ways to reduce costs by at least 20%; however, it remains unclear whether such cost-cutting measures will include layoffs.
The company has not yet finalized any cost-cutting measures, and the related plans may still change. Bablani oversees only one internal department of Azure, while the entire cloud business unit has approximately 60,000 employees. Bablani's department is responsible for developing software related to the cloud server business and does not belong to the Azure data center team.
However, a Microsoft spokesperson stated in a declaration: 'Azure leadership has not instructed teams to develop cost-cutting plans. Any responsible company prepares for various market dynamics and scenarios. The report is neither accurate nor rigorous.' (rc)
