SAP SE said today it will lay off 3,000 people, or about 2.5% of its global workforce, following a steep fall in profits in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The company expects to incur restructuring costs of between $272 million and $327 million in the first quarter of 2023 as a result but said the moves will yield savings of about $382 million in 2024.

SAP also said it is looking to sell its 84% stake in survey software specialist Qualtrics International Inc., which it acquired for $8 billion in 2019 and took public in 2021. Qualtrics’ share price has suffered along with those of many technology firms recently. It’s down 40% from a year ago and 67% below its peak shortly after the IPO. The company’s market capitalization was $8.5 billion this morning after jumping nearly 30% following SAP’s announcement and fourth-quarter results yesterday that beat expectations.

Fourth-quarter revenue of $9.28 billion was slightly below analysts’ estimates of $9.32 billion. Cloud revenue grew 22% in constant-currency terms, to $3.7 billion. Software license sales continue to plunge, falling 39% in constant-currency terms, to $989 million. SAP has been on an aggressive campaign to shift its customers away from on-premises licensing to its S/4HANA cloud-based enterprise resource planning suite, which grew 79% in the quarter.

Microsoft sales have slowed sharply as customers facing economic strains cut their spending on technology.

The firm said sales rose just 2% in the three months to December, to $52.7bn (£42.7bn), the smallest quarterly increase in more than six years.

The update came just days after the firm said it would reduce its workforce by roughly 5%, eliminating 10,000 jobs.

The tech industry has been hammered by job cuts in recent months, as advertising and other spending slows.

Businesses are worried about the economy, while households that splashed out on computers and other tech while stuck at home during the pandemic have been cutting back, especially as the cost of living rises.

Microsoft said revenue tied to the Xbox video game system fell 12%, while spending on its Windows products plunged 39%.

Sales growth in the firm’s Azure cloud computing unit – seen by analysts as a key growth driver for the firm – was better than expected, up 31%, helping to lift the firm’s shares in after-hours trade.

But overall profits sank 12% to $16.4bn.

Prior to the update from the company, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note that he thought the slowdown for Microsoft would be temporary.

“Our recent conversations with customers and partners underscores our confidence that [Microsoft] can ride out this economic storm and ultimately be in a stronger position in the other side with cost cutting and strategic measures already in place,” he said.