Microsoft Cloud President Asks Leaders to Find 20% Cost Cuts

Microsoft has discussed making significant cost reductions in its Azure cloud-server-rental unit, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. Girish Bablani, president of Azure, in recent weeks told senior leaders in his group, which has about 11,500 employees, to come up with ideas to reduce costs at least 20%, though it isn’t clear if such a reduction would include layoffs, according to the person.

The discussion comes even as Azure’s revenue growth has accelerated, a sign of how heavily Microsoft’s data center spending is weighing on its finances.