Dozens of contract journalists at Microsoft's MSN and Microsoft News organizations are being phased out in favor of artificial intelligence, according to multiple reports this week. Between Wednesday and Thursday, roughly 50 staffers received the news that their contracts would not be renewed after their June 30 expiration date. All are employed through outside agencies, including 27 writers with the UK's PA Media Group, according to a Guardian report. "Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement via the Seattle Times. "This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time to time, re-deployment in others. These decisions are not the result of the current pandemic."