Microsoft has taken steps to understand its own energy usage (Credit: Getty)

Microsoft is the latest technology company to lay off thousands of people.

Following Amazon, Twitter and Facebook, Microsoft has confirmed it will cut 10,000 jobs by the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2023.

The cuts will be company-wide and all stakeholders will be notified in March, according to a memo from CEO Satya Nadella.

Employees in the US will receive “above average severance pay” along with six months of health insurance, six months of stock transfers, career transition services and 60 days’ notice.

“It is important to note that while we cut jobs in some areas, we continue to hire in key strategic areas,” Nadella wrote.

“We know this is a challenging time for all those affected. The Senior Leadership Team and I are fully committed to making this process as thoughtful and transparent as possible.”

It is not yet clear how many British workers will be affected and what their severance pay will be. Nadella simply states, “Benefits for non-U.S. employees will be in accordance with each country’s labor laws.”

Microsoft currently employs approximately 220,000 people worldwide. This is one of the company’s biggest rounds of cuts — surpassed only by 2014, when it cut 18,000 jobs.

Microsoft is building its own Surface laptops to compete with Apple (Photo: Microsoft)

Nadella hinted at the bleak outlook for technology companies as the cost of living rises and many countries face economic uncertainty.

“While we’ve seen customers accelerate their digital spend during the pandemic, we’re now seeing them streamline their digital spend to do more with less,” he wrote.

“We also see companies across all industries and regions being cautious as some parts of the world are in recession and others are anticipating it.”

Employees who do not lose their job can in any case take as much holiday as they want.