BELLEVUE, Wash. – Microsoft is cutting almost 5% of its workforce, joining other tech companies that have scaled back their pandemic-era expansions.

The company said that the 10,000 layoffs were a response to macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities.

Microsoft is cutting far fewer jobs than it had added during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it responded to a boom in demand for its workplace software and cloud computing services.

Microsoft’s workforce expanded by about 36% in the two years following the emergence of the pandemic.

CEO Satya Nadella said customers that were accelerating their spending on digital technology during the pandemic are now trying to “optimize their digital spend to do more with less.”

The company sent notice to Washington state employment officials that it was cutting 878 workers at its offices in Redmond, Bellevue, and Issaquah.