The AI-focused tech giant did not disclose the total amount of lost jobs but US media reports said it will amount to about 6,000 people or about 3% of its global workforce.

That included 1,985 workers in its home state of Washington, according to a filing posted on the state’s labour affairs agency.

“We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The company, which is advancing in its plans of deploying AI across all its products, also said it was in a process to “empower employees to spend more time focusing on meaningful work by leveraging new technologies and capabilities.”

Microsoft two weeks ago posted robust quarterly results for the January to March period, powered by a strong performance in its cloud computing and artificial intelligence businesses.

The company, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, was one of the first tech giants to double down on artificial intelligence when the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 rocked the tech industry.