MS Executives Enjoy Special Singer Performance Ahead of '10,000 Layoffs'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] It has been reported that Microsoft (MS) executives, who announced plans to lay off 10,000 employees within the year, enjoyed a performance by singer Sting at the World Economic Forum (WEF·Davos Forum) held the previous day.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 19th (local time) that this private gathering of 50 people, including MS top executives, spent the evening watching Sting's performance.

According to WSJ, the event was a private meeting limited to about 50 people, including MS top executives, and attendees spent the evening watching Sting's performance.

The event was held under the theme of sustainability and was known to be a gathering where executives attending the Davos Forum fostered camaraderie.

Prior to enjoying Sting's performance, on the 18th, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, announced in a memo to employees that the company plans to lay off 10,000 employees by March this year. As of June last year, MS had 221,000 employees. The planned layoffs correspond to about 5% of the total workforce, significantly exceeding last year's layoff rate of 1%. MS is expected to mainly reduce staff in the technical departments and lay off more than one-third of the human resources department as well.

Nadella explained the reason for the layoffs as "to respond to the macroeconomic environment and changes in consumer demand."

WSJ reported on the MS executives' special performance, stating, "Gatherings of celebrities at the Davos Forum are part of business for tech companies, and related events may be planned in advance, but some employees pointed out that the company-sponsored Sting concert was ill-timed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.