If Magnificent 7 companies are about to accelerate their growth with AI, why are two of the members cutting jobs? Growth companies usually hire staff when demand outpaces supply.
Microsoft (MSFT) seeks to lift its operating margin and efficiency. The firm, for the first time, is offering a voluntary employee buyout. That would cut up to 7% of the U.S. workforce. Workers who are at the senior director level or lower and whose employment years plus age add to at least 70 are eligible.
Microsoft needs more funds to afford buying more data center AI servers.
Meta Platforms (META) plans to cut 10% of its staff. Starting on May 20, Meta will cut 8,000 staff. It needs to raise its efficiency if it wants its Meta AI to catch up to competitors like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google’s (GOOG) Gemini. In 2020, Meta had around 58,600 staff. That ballooned to 86,482 in late 2022. In January, it had 78,865 staff.
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) might add to the -12.62% from Thursday. In Q1, it posted an 8.7% Y/Y rise in revenue, to $6.23 billion. The firm must use its cash flow to pay down its debt.
In the chip sector, Texas Instruments (TXN) gained over 19.4% yesterday to close at an all-time high. Revenue jumped by 18.7% to $4.83 billion.
