Microsoft will lay off 1,985 employees in Washington state starting July 12, including 475 remote workers, according to a WARN notice. It’s the largest local cut since 2023.

The Redmond-based tech giant didn’t disclose how many employees in total it plans to lay off, but a spokesperson said up to 3% of Microsoft’s workforce could be affected. Microsoft has 228,000 employees worldwide, meaning more than 6,800 people could be laid off.

Nearly 50% of the employee layoffs at Microsoft’s Washington office affected staff in software engineering roles, as the company has started to rely more on