India, July 16 -- A former Microsoft principal software engineer and technology leader has shared that he was laid off after spending nearly 25 years at the company, prompting an outpouring of support from colleagues and professionals across the tech industry.

Peter Hauge announced the news in a LinkedIn post, revealing that his role at Microsoft had been eliminated with immediate effect. He said that he had spent almost 25 years at the company, where he worked alongside and learned from "so many amazing engineers."

"My friends, I have some unfortunate news to share. I found out today that my job at Microsoft has been eliminated, effective immediately. I made it just short of 25 years and have worked with (and learned from) so many amaz...