Microsoft has saved $500 million over the past year through AI-powered efficiencies in its call center operations, according to a top executive. The announcement follows the company’s third wave of layoffs, totaling around 15,000 employees. AI integration has boosted productivity across sales, customer service, and engineering. While it’s unclear if AI directly replaced laid-off staff, the move comes amid record profits and a planned $80 billion investment in AI. The timing of the layoffs has sparked criticism despite Microsoft’s strong financial performance.