# Microsoft Layoffs Spread to Nairobi, Israel and Vietnam After July Cuts

- URL: https://usa-24.com/microsoft-layoffs-nairobi-israel-vietnam/
- Publisher: USA 24
- Section: Tech News & Analysis
- Published: 2026-10-15T09:36:03.446Z
- Updated: 2026-10-15T09:36:03.450Z
- Topics: Microsoft, Layoffs, Artificial Intelligence, Xbox, Tech Industry

> Microsoft's October job cuts are reaching engineering and sales operations in Kenya, Israel and Vietnam. The company has not disclosed how many people are affected.

## Key takeaways

- Employees say they were told on October 12 that Microsoft's Nairobi Africa Development Centre is closing, but Microsoft has not given a date or headcount.
- Globes reported that Microsoft is cutting roles on its Copilot Studio team in Israel, and Microsoft has not published a number for that cut.
- The July 6 round eliminated 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of Microsoft's global workforce, and targeted U.S. staff at senior director level and below.
- CNBC reported 1,600 Xbox roles cut on July 6, with 3,200 Xbox roles cut in total through fiscal year 2027.
- Microsoft's chief people officer wrote in July that “there will be more changes ahead,” but no source ties the October reports to that statement.

The latest Microsoft layoffs are reaching engineering and sales operations outside the United States. Employees at the company’s Nairobi Africa Development Centre say they were told on October 12 that the site is closing. Microsoft has not given a date or a headcount for that closure, so the account rests on what staff reported rather than on a company statement.

Reports dated October 12 to 14 describe cuts in Kenya, Israel and Vietnam. Together they suggest the restructuring Microsoft flagged in July is still running. The same day Nairobi staff were told of the closure, Globes reported that Microsoft was cutting roles on its Copilot Studio team in Israel. Microsoft has not published a number for that cut either.

In Vietnam, a Microsoft representative responded on October 14 to VietNamNet about reported layoffs, according to a report on Vietnam.vn. The company said it had not provided information on how many employees or positions were affected. The verified facts are thinner than a typical headline layoff, and that gap determines how much weight these reports can carry.

## What Microsoft has said about the October cuts

The only company comment in the reporting available for this article is a short statement from an unnamed Microsoft representative. The representative said the company is “constantly adjusting how we work and organize our teams.” That line describes an ongoing process. It does not confirm the Nairobi closure, the Israel cuts or any headcount.

Microsoft has not put the Nairobi closure or the Israel cuts on the record in the reporting reviewed here. Until it does, readers should treat the closure as a report from employees, not a confirmed corporate decision with a timeline.

## How the July cut of 4,800 jobs set up this round

On July 6, Microsoft said it would lay off 4,800 employees, about 2.1% of its global workforce, and that the cuts would be especially pronounced in its Xbox department, according to [Reuters via U.S. News](https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2026-07-06/microsoft-joins-ai-driven-tech-layoff-wave-with-4-800-job-cuts). [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/06/microsoft-cuts-2point1percent-of-employees-as-xbox-unit-plans-to-spin-studios.html) reported that 1,600 Xbox roles were cut on July 6, with 3,200 Xbox roles cut in total through fiscal year 2027.

The cut was announced in a memo from Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s executive vice president and chief people officer. In that memo, she wrote, “We are still early on this journey, and there will be more changes ahead,” as [The Stack](https://www.thestack.technology/microsoft-layoffs-and-promises-more/) reported. That line is the clearest signal that the October reports belong to a longer program. The sources do not tie it to any specific team or date.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma told staff in an email, as CNBC reported, “Unfortunately, it is not possible to make all the necessary changes in a single day.” That sentence reads as a plan for several rounds, not one event.

The company tied the July cut to AI-driven change, but it drew a distinction. Coleman said the eliminated roles were not being replaced by AI, a line [The Verge reported and Thurrott reprinted](https://www.thurrott.com/microsoft/338449/microsoft-announces-4800-job-cuts-including-3200-at-its-xbox-division). She also said AI is changing how work gets done, as [ABC News](https://abcnews.com/Business/microsoft-laying-off-4800-workers-ai-changing-work/story?id=134518435) reported. In practice, the company is saying the work is changing. It is not saying a machine is doing these jobs.

## Which employees have been affected so far

### U.S. employees and the voluntary offer

The July cuts targeted U.S. employees at the senior director level and below. More than one-third of eligible employees accepted a voluntary offer, according to CNBC. The sources do not say whether any October cuts reached U.S. roles, so that remains unknown.

### Nairobi, Israel and Vietnam

The Nairobi centre reportedly employed 450 to 570 engineers when it opened in 2022, according to Kenyan press reports cited by [FinalRound AI](https://www.finalroundai.com/blog/microsoft-layoffs). The same source says Nairobi was the last of two original African development centres after Lagos closed in 2024. That makes the Nairobi decision a loss of one of the company’s few engineering footholds on the continent.

In Israel, the reported cuts hit a product team tied to Microsoft’s AI tools. In Vietnam, the company has confirmed the reports exist but has not said how many people or roles were affected. The three locations share one feature: none has a published number.

## Why the cuts matter beyond Microsoft

Tech layoffs across the industry were reported at more than 190,000 in 2026, according to the [Yahoo Tech layoffs tracker](https://tech.yahoo.com/general/breaking-news/article/tech-layoffs-tracker-2026-all-the-job-losses-across-netflix-amazon-apple-oracle-tiktok-meta-and-others-133546661.html). USA 24 has also covered [Netflix’s plan to cut about 1,000 jobs, roughly 6% of its staff](https://usa-24.com/netflix-layoffs-1000-jobs-6-percent/). Microsoft’s round is one more sign that AI-era restructuring is spreading across large companies rather than staying confined to a single sector.

Microsoft’s own history points the same way. Earlier cuts came in 2025, but the sources disagree on their size. [InformationWeek](https://www.informationweek.com/it-staffing-careers/2026-tech-company-layoffs) puts Microsoft’s 2025 cut at 9,100 employees, while [Inc.](https://www.inc.com/victoria-salves/microsoft-eliminates-almost-5000-employees-hr-chief-makes-statement-about-ai/91369984) reports nearly 9,000 cut in July 2025 after a 6,000 cut earlier that year. The discrepancy is unresolved, and it does not change the broader pattern of recurring cuts.

## Investors and the AI spending question

Microsoft was the worst-performing megacap tech stock of 2026 as of early July, down 19% at that point, CNBC reported. The July cuts came as investors worried that generative AI could displace enterprise software spending.

That worry is about revenue more than headcount. For a company that sells software to businesses, the question is whether customers keep paying for it as AI tools change what they buy. Cutting staff can signal confidence in margins, but it does not answer that question on its own. Broader nerves about AI are visible elsewhere, too. USA 24 has reported on a [chip stock selloff that deepened as Fed’s Goolsbee warned of AI overheating](https://usa-24.com/chip-stock-selloff-ai-overheating-goolsbee/).

## What to do if you were laid off or track Microsoft

No consumer action is needed. Customers do not need to change anything based on these reports. For employees and investors, the following steps are general advice and are not drawn from the sources:

- If you were affected, ask HR for your severance, notice and separation terms in writing, including deadlines for accepting or declining any offer.
- Check whether local employment rules in Kenya, Israel or Vietnam give you rights that differ from U.S. practice.
- If you hold Microsoft stock, watch the company’s regulatory filings for a disclosed headcount, which would be the first hard number for the October round.

## What to watch next

Several questions will decide how large this round is. The first is whether Microsoft confirms the Nairobi closure and gives a date and headcount. The second is whether the Israel and Vietnam cuts receive numbers. The third is whether any October cuts reach U.S. roles.

The Xbox plan to spin off four gaming studios, which CNBC’s July coverage flagged, will also show how far the restructuring extends. If Microsoft confirms the Nairobi closure and discloses numbers, the July memo will look less like a single round and more like the start of a multi-quarter program. Until then, the October reports are credible enough to track but incomplete enough that readers should wait for the company’s own figures.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Microsoft laying off more employees in October 2026?

Reports dated October 12 to 14 describe cuts in Kenya, Israel and Vietnam, but Microsoft has not published headcounts for them. In July, Amy Coleman, the chief people officer, wrote that there would be more changes ahead. No source confirms that the October reports are that round.

### Is Microsoft’s Nairobi office closing?

Employees say they were told on October 12 that the Nairobi Africa Development Centre is closing. Microsoft has not given a date or a headcount, so the closure rests on employee accounts. According to Kenyan press reports, the centre reportedly employed 450 to 570 engineers when it opened in 2022.

### How many jobs did Microsoft cut in July 2026?

Microsoft announced 4,800 job cuts on July 6, about 2.1% of its global workforce. CNBC reported that 1,600 Xbox roles were cut that day, with 3,200 Xbox roles cut in total through fiscal year 2027. The July cut targeted U.S. employees at senior director level and below.

### Did Microsoft cut roles on its Copilot Studio team in Israel?

Globes reported that Microsoft was cutting roles on its Copilot Studio team in Israel on October 12. Microsoft has not published a number for that cut. The company has not said whether the Israel cuts are part of the same restructuring as the July round.

## Sources

1. [2026 tech company layoffs, InformationWeek](https://www.informationweek.com/it-staffing-careers/2026-tech-company-layoffs)
2. [Microsoft Layoffs Hit Nairobi Engineers and Copilot Studio, FinalRound AI](https://www.finalroundai.com/blog/microsoft-layoffs)
3. [Microsoft responds to reports of layoffs in Vietnam, Vietnam.vn](https://vietnam.vn/en/microsoft-len-tieng-ve-thong-tin-sa-thai-nhan-su-tai-viet-nam)
4. [Microsoft is laying off 4,800 workers: 'AI is changing how work gets done', ABC News](https://abcnews.com/Business/microsoft-laying-off-4800-workers-ai-changing-work/story?id=134518435)
5. [Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs, as Xbox unit downsizes and plans to spin off four gaming studios, CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/06/microsoft-cuts-2point1percent-of-employees-as-xbox-unit-plans-to-spin-studios.html)
6. [Microsoft Announces 4,800 Job Cuts, Including 3,200 at its Xbox Division, Thurrott](https://www.thurrott.com/microsoft/338449/microsoft-announces-4800-job-cuts-including-3200-at-its-xbox-division)
7. [Microsoft makes layoffs and promises more, The Stack](https://www.thestack.technology/microsoft-layoffs-and-promises-more/)
8. [Tech layoffs tracker 2026, Yahoo Tech](https://tech.yahoo.com/general/breaking-news/article/tech-layoffs-tracker-2026-all-the-job-losses-across-netflix-amazon-apple-oracle-tiktok-meta-and-others-133546661.html)
9. [Microsoft to Cut 4,800 Jobs, Overhaul Xbox Unit, Reuters via U.S. News](https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2026-07-06/microsoft-joins-ai-driven-tech-layoff-wave-with-4-800-job-cuts)
10. [As Microsoft Lays Off Almost 5,000 Employees, Its HR Chief Makes a Statement About AI, Inc.](https://www.inc.com/victoria-salves/microsoft-eliminates-almost-5000-employees-hr-chief-makes-statement-about-ai/91369984)