The number of product-related research and development roles at Microsoft increased more than 12% to 81,000 positions as of June 30, from 72,000 the year before, even as the company continued to make periodic layoffs.
That’s one of the tidbits gleaned from Microsoft’s latest Form 10K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, combined with records maintained by GeekWire showing the company’s historical employment trends.
The increase of 9,000 net jobs in product R&D over the past year comes as Microsoft looks to develop and release new AI products and technologies across the company. It also shows how the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, completed in October 2023, has reshaped Microsoft’s global workforce.
Meanwhile, the number of operations roles at Microsoft declined more than 3% to 86,000 positions as of June 30, from 89,000 the prior year. Microsoft says this category of employment includes product support and consulting services, datacenter operations, and manufacturing and distribution.
Sales and marketing roles were flat at 45,000 roles, and general and administrative positions were up slightly to 16,000, from 15,000 a year earlier.
Overall, Microsoft’s global employment rose 3% to 228,000 as of the June 30 end of its fiscal year, still below its peak of more than 230,000 employees in late 2022, prior to announcing layoffs of 10,000 people in early 2023.
In the current economic environment, the company is trying to keep a lid on operating expenses, including employment-related costs, to preserve its operating margins even as it significantly boosts capital spending on infrastructure to keep up with anticipated AI demand.
Microsoft recently told employees that it will provide them with a special one-time cash award amounting to an additional 10% to 25% of the value of their annual bonuses for the company’s recently completed fiscal year.