Nadella says Microsoft will hire again, but with an AI-first approach

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company will increase its headcount, months after a barrage of tech layoffs globally, but the new hires will have to prove their artificial intelligence (AI) mettle.

“We will grow our headcount, but the way I look at it is that headcount will grow with a lot more leverage than what we had pre-AI,” Nadella said in a podcast released on Saturday, where he appeared alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

He added that headcount growth will come after employees finish the “relearning and unlearning” process of how to work…