India, Oct. 27 -- Former Microsoft employee Merill Fernando has called for a significant shift in how the technology giant operates, arguing that the company needs fewer employees, less organisational bureaucracy and a stronger focus on AI-powered, agentic work to remain competitive.

In a post reflecting on his departure from Microsoft three months ago to start his own company, Fernando acknowledged the human cost of the company's workforce reductions, saying the layoffs had deeply affected former colleagues, their families and their children. However, HT.com cannot independently verify the claims made in the post.

Fernando's post comes a day after Microsoft announced that it is extending a voluntary severance package to roughly 60,000 ...