Microsoft to Resume Hiring with AI-Focused Workforce Strategy: Satya Nadella

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has confirmed that the company will resume headcount growth, signalling the end of a hiring freeze and layoff cycle that marked much of the past year.

Speaking on the BG2 podcast with investor Brad Gerstner, Nadella said Microsoft’s next phase of hiring would be driven by AI-enabled productivity and efficiency, focusing on roles transformed by AI, not replaced by it.

“We will grow our headcount,” Nadella said. “But the way I look at it is, that headcount will grow with a lot more leverage than what we had pre-AI.”

The company plans to expand in areas such as AI engineering, data science, and cloud infrastructure, where artificial intelligence is reshaping workflows rather than eliminating them.

Microsoft’s workforce stood at 228,000 employees at the close of its 2025 fiscal year, after cumulative layoffs exceeding 15,000 positions amid cost realignments and AI integration.

Nadella said the company’s hiring approach will prioritise AI-driven efficiency, with every new role designed to “augment human capability through technology.”