Microsoft Employee Fired by Computer Algorithm After 25 Years

A Microsoft employee who had dedicated 25 years to the company was recently laid off, not due to performance but by an algorithmic decision-making process. The incident has sparked emotional reactions across social media, raising concerns about the increasingly impersonal nature of corporate layoffs, especially as AI tools are used in workforce decisions.

The story surfaced when the Microsoft employee’s wife shared a poignant post on Reddit. She revealed that her husband, a 25-year veteran at Microsoft, received his termination notice through an automated process. Shockingly, his layoff occurred on the same day as his 48th birthday. Despite battling health issues such as multiple sclerosis and being autistic, the Microsoft employee was known for his commitment, working 60-hour weeks and regularly volunteering for holiday shifts. He rarely took time off and never sought promotions or raises.

This layoff is part of a broader round of job cuts at Microsoft, which recently laid off around 6,000 employees globally as part of a restructuring effort that the company claims is aimed at streamlining operations and focusing on AI. More than 2,000 software engineers were let go in Washington state alone, as reported by Bloomberg.

Critics have questioned the use of AI in such decisions, raising concerns that older Microsoft employees or those with health issues could be disproportionately affected. Some have pointed out that loyalty in the modern corporate world doesn’t seem to guarantee job security, with many people expressing skepticism about the fairness of AI-driven layoffs.

For a company that has embraced AI, generating up to 30% of its code through AI tools in some projects, these layoffs have become a reminder of the harsh realities of corporate restructuring in the age of automation.

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