“In early 2022, we recognized the pandemic as a once-in-a-generation opportunity and we surged on Teams to win,” Spataro wrote. “Now, we’re doing it again.”
The reorganization reduces the number of people working on Teams and creates a central Copilot and “future of work” team under Colette Stallbaumer, whose LinkedIn profile lists her title as general manager. It consolidates other teams as well, including those working on various marketing aspects of Copilot. Those reductions included layoffs, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.
“Going forward, no matter what you do or where you work, your job will be to drive AI transformation,” Spataro wrote.
Frank Shaw, a Microsoft spokesperson, confirmed Spataro was putting more resources behind Copilot but said Teams remained a core priority and that Copilot was a part of Teams. Copilot for Teams, Shaw said, is the company’s most used and loved Copilot according to customer surveys and research and will continue to be a focus of investments. Shaw did not comment on whether the reorg included Teams layoffs.
The change is the latest example of Microsoft prioritizing artificial intelligence over other areas of the business. Usage of Teams, Microsoft’s successful workplace chat tool, surged in the pandemic as employees were forced to work remotely and reached more than 300 million monthly active users in 2023.
While many companies have since returned to offices in some capacity, hybrid work remains an opportunity for tools like Teams. Even Amazon, which introduced a strict return-to-office mandate, plans to cut costs by reducing office space, as BI recently revealed.
Microsoft is leaning into the potential of its new Copilot tools, built on OpenAI’s GPT models, which have mixed feedback from customers. The tools provide automated support, like summarizing meetings or helping to prepare presentations.
The tech giant is internally trying to overcome challenges like unfavorable comparisons to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and add value to the services before customers start doubting their return from the steep cost of generative-AI technology.
Are you a Microsoft employee or someone else with insight to share?
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