Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella addressed the growing internal unease inside the tech giant Thursday morning, laying out the company’s priorities and urging employees to maintain its core values, while conceding that its rapid transition for the artificial intelligence era “might feel messy at times.

Following Microsoft's latest mass layoffs that affected around 9,000 people--including dramatic cuts at Xbox--CEO Satya Nadella sent a memo to staff that was shared on Microsoft's blog. In the memo to staff, Nadella addressed what he called the "why, what, and how" of the decision to cut so many jobs.

"I want to acknowledge the uncertainty and seeming incongruence of the times we're in. By every objective measure, Microsoft is thriving… and yet, at the same