Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella said the software giant plans to expand its workforce after a year of layoffs and flat headcount, but with “a lot more leverage” as employees adopt AI tools. Nadella told investor Brad Gerstner that staff will spend the next year “unlearning and relearning” workflows around Microsoft 365 and GitHub Copilot before headcount growth resumes. The comments follow Microsoft’s 12% revenue increase and its widest operating margin since 2002, with Azure revenue rising 40%. Nadella cited examples of AI agents handling maintenance tasks as data-center operations scale, arguing productivity gains will let smaller teams do more. The remarks come as rivals such as Amazon trim staff while ramping AI investment, underscoring a broader industry shift toward automation-enabled efficiency.
Related article:
