Microsoft has slashed around 10,000 jobs with the office in Edinburgh likely to be among those affected by the cuts.
The software giant has become the latest US tech firm to announce hefty staff cuts in the face of an economic downturn. The group said the cuts - almost 5% of its workforce - were being made in response to "macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities".
The company said it had notified employees of the layoffs, some of which begin immediately - and it plans to complete the job losses by the end of September. It declined to give a breakdown of cuts per country or give details on what the impact would be on the UK.
Microsoft has around 6,000 workers and six main offices in the UK - its Reading UK headquarters and sites in, Edinburgh, Cambridge Enfield, Manchester and Paddington.
The company said it will also be making changes to its hardware portfolio and consolidating its leased office locations. It will take a charge of around 1.2 billion US dollars (£976 million) in the second quarter from the actions..
Details of the job cuts follow reports on Tuesday over the planned layoffs and come after Microsoft already slashed some roles last year, although numbers were not confirmed at the time. Microsoft joins a raft of rivals in trimming their workforces on fears of a slowdown in demand as the US and global economy slows.
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