After recently laying off 9000 employees in a strategic AI focused shift, Microsoft has said it has given up on its older workforce, and is now looking to prime the next generation to help drive its AI goals and revenue.
Microsoft president Brad Smith acknowledged the difficult choices the company has had to make, but said that this is necessary to propel the stock back above NVIDIA in the fight for market cap supremacy.
Referring to the shift towards AI, Smith noted the challenges in retraining older workers. “We’ve tried hard to upskill our longer tenured employees on Copilot and AI, but these Boomers are just impossible to work with. It’s like trying to get your dad to view the menu at a restaurant from the QR code on the table. It just won’t work, no matter how patient you are.”
To that end, Smith says they are pivoting to the younger, more tech savvy generation to replace their aging staff. Announcing today an investment of $4 Billion, the new program, “Microsoft Elevate – Putting People First (and Employees Last)“, will invest in training, upskilling, and job placement for the latest generation across a range of AI related technology and roles.
In addition to this investment, Smith said they are also working with their political action committee MSPAC and the current Trump administration to review and adjust child labor laws. “If we can get these kids to market faster, we can have them writing prompts and delivering impact for our shareholders with minimal gaps between layoff and hiring cycles.”