The tech giant declined to say how many jobs had been cut, but the dark satanic rumour mill said that more than a thousand staff members were cleaning out their desks and fighting over the spare photocopy paper boxes. 

"Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis, and make structural adjustments accordingly. We will continue to invest in our business and hire in key growth areas in the year ahead," Microsoft was quoted as saying in a statement.

The cuts occurred across a variety of levels, teams, and parts of the world.

Other tech companies that have either laid off employees or slowed hiring in the current economic downturn include Google, Meta, Oracle, Twitter, Nvidia, Snap, Uber, Spotify, Intel and Salesforce.