Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 9, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Microsoft saved $500 million with AI, plans layoffs to manage costs and invest in AI infrastructure, boosting productivity and speeding up product launches.
(Reuters) -Microsoft saved more than $500 million in its call centers alone last year by using artificial intelligence, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.
The tech giant last week announced plans to lay off nearly 4% of its workforce as it looks to rein in costs amid hefty investments in AI infrastructure. In May, the company had announced layoffs affecting around 6,000 workers.
AI tools were helping improve productivity in segments from sales and customer service to software engineering and the company has begun using AI to handle interactions with smaller customers, Microsoft's Chief Commercial Officer Judson Althoff said during a presentation this week, according to the Bloomberg News report.
The nascent effort was already generating tens of millions of dollars, the report said, citing a person familiar with his comments.
AI generated 35% of the code for new products, accelerating launch times, Althoff said, according to the report.
Microsoft declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
The Windows maker has earmarked $80 billion in capital spending this fiscal year, with most of it aimed at expanding data centers to ease capacity bottlenecks for artificial-intelligence services.
Big tech companies have been spending heavily on AI as they view the new technology as a major growth engine, while slashing costs elsewhere to safeguard profits.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Pooja Desai)
Microsoft saved more than $500 million in its call centers alone last year by using artificial intelligence.
Microsoft announced plans to lay off nearly 4% of its workforce as part of its cost-reduction strategy.
AI generated 35% of the code for new products, which has accelerated launch times according to Microsoft.
Microsoft has earmarked $80 billion in capital spending this fiscal year, primarily aimed at expanding data centers for AI services.
Big tech companies view AI as a major growth engine and are investing heavily while cutting costs in other areas to protect profits.
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