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At least 32 attorneys and 5 paralegals lost their jobs to the fresh wave of cuts at Microsoft, according to reports. Up to 465 legal roles will be impacted in the process as the company integrates AI into its day-to-day operations. Not even jobs for employees with over half a decade of experience are safe anymore.

Per the report, the laid-off legal team was “the bottom tranche, lawyers three to seven years out of law school that are more easily replaced.”

Per Amanda Goodall, an analyst, Microsoft “didn’t cut out legal because it’s dead weight… AI is basically winning the balance of leverage.”

Microsoft recently let go of 9000+ staff, with several laid off from the Xbox division. Reportedly some of the developers of Candy Crush Saga at its subsidiary were replaced by the very AI tools they had developed.

Most layoffs are tied with AI in the tech sector and have become a norm. Ironically, these tech giants are aggressively hiring (to the point of poaching) AI talents to develop the next phase in the post-ChatGPT AI gold rush.

Microsoft Layoffs Hit Legal Department as AI Reshapes Staffing Strategy https://t.co/EYROaqNTFT pic.twitter.com/7E8uEZbEpu
— Corporate Counsel (@CorpCounsel) July 18, 2025

Microsoft Layoffs Hit Legal Department as AI Reshapes Staffing Strategy https://t.co/9AwCtQru0l pic.twitter.com/AAZ8MJZNur
— Law.com (@lawdotcom) July 18, 2025

Whoa. Microsoft just laid off dozens of lawyers.

At least 32 attorneys and 5 paralegals cut in Redmond.

Up to 465 legal roles could be gone worldwide.

In-house used to be safe.
Not anymore.

According to legal insiders, this is “unprecedented”… even veterans with 7+ years…
— Amanda Goodall (@thejobchick) July 18, 2025

The Microsoft lawyer layoffs drama…

They didn’t cut out legal because it’s dead weight… AI is basically winning the balance of leverage.

I’ve gone through the legal team stats… Here is the inside pattern for Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, and Alphabet (Google) and what is… pic.twitter.com/7XPp1cnLSx
— Amanda Goodall (@thejobchick) July 18, 2025

See Also: Microsoft Draws Flake For Using AI Image For Xbox Hiring Post After Laying Off 9000+ Staff

Reactions poured in on Microsoft legal layoffs. One user jibed, “AI has gotten real good at reading verbose legalese (& crafting it). Given that good lawyers are expensive, I’m not surprised they are shown the door.” The user added, “A lot of legal for young folks is plowing through documents. AI is faster, but seemingly also invents cases so?”

Another quipped, “Yet we have people saying that this is a prioritization initiative and not a cost cutting one. Wake up folks “ANY” knowledge based profession is done.” The user suggested,

Time to go back to trade school and learn Carpentry.”

AI has gotten real good at reading verbose legalese (& crafting it).
Given that good lawyers are expensive, I’m not surprised they are shown the door.
The white collar world is going to be decimated in 2025/2026. Blue collars will have a little respite (5 years max, probably more…
— Mystisith (@Mystisith) July 19, 2025

A lot of legal for young folks is plowing through documents. AI is faster, but seemingly also invents cases so?
— Bizzaro (@golgibodybuildr) July 18, 2025

Yet we have people saying that this is a prioritization initiative and not a cost cutting one. Wake up folks “ANY” knowledge based profession is done. Time to go back to trade school and learn Carpentry.
— Figar Testev (@FigaroTestere) July 18, 2025

See Also: Intel Axes 107 Engineers Across Several Departments; To Layoff Over 10,000 Factory Workers Soon

See Also: TikTok’s Massive Layoff In The US Exposes Its Toxic Work Culture; Employee Says They Were Sent ChatGPT Mail

See Also: ‘We Will Need Fewer People…’ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy Warns Employees To Adapt With AI Or Face The Axe