Based on user posts to Microsoft-owned social network LinkedIn, the cuts have hit a variety of managers, engineers and other job titles in Microsoft. Microsoft’s new fiscal year has started with a round of layoffs and some changes in its partner program, especially around requirements for specializations. Layoffs aren’t unusual for Microsoft this time of year. The Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant started its 2025 fiscal year July 1 and should report results for the 2024 fiscal year and final quarter of that year later this month. Based on user posts to Microsoft-owned social network LinkedIn, the cuts have hit a variety of managers, engineers and other job titles in Microsoft subsidiaries Flip and Nuance and even in areas that touch its fast-growing artificial intelligence (AI) business. As for partner program changes, early announcements on Microsoft’s Partner Center don’t appear to reach the level of a New Commerce Experience (NCE), but still have an effect on how solution providers e…