Washington: US tech giant Microsoft is set to fire approximately 11,000 workers to address the impacts of a slowing world economy, Sky News reported.

The move represents a roughly 5% downsize of Microsoft’s workforce, although one analyst suggests that the figure could be higher, the report said on Tuesday.

The $1.78 trillion company, which employs more than 220,000 people worldwide, is set to release a second-quarter earnings report next week, the report said. Microsoft chief Satya Nadella could announce the staff reductions ahead of the update to financial investors on January 24, the report said.

Technology companies such as Microsoft and Amazon have had to respond to a global economic slowdown after hiring thousands of new employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said.

In October, Microsoft warned of a slowdown in its cloud computing business, into which the company has invested considerable resources expecting growth, the report added.

Microsoft reportedly declined to comment on the matter, characterizing it as rumor and speculation.

(With UNI inputs)