Microsoft profits surge days after announcing major job cuts

Technology giant Microsoft says its profits for the three months to the end of September jumped to more than $36.6bn (£27.5bn), On Monday, the Windows developer said it would offer buyouts to around 60,000 of its workers to cut costs as it pours billions of dollars into artificial intelligence (AI). Like many other major tech firms, Microsoft is investing heavily in the infrastructure that powers AI even as questions remain over whether such huge spending will pay off. Microsoft shares rose by almost 2.9% in after hours trading in New York on Wednesday. The recent financial results of tech companies have been closely watched by investors as they gauge whether the heavy spending on AI is sustainable. Big tech companies like Amazon, Meta and Alphabet are expected to spend more than $700bn this year on AI chips and infrastructure like data centres .