Microsoft has announced major job cuts at the company with 18,000 staff to be made redundant in the next year, as well as the closure of its Xbox Entertainment Studio and the cessation of all non-Windows mobile activity by its Nokia division.
Following rumours of cuts to come, Microsoft has confirmed that it plans to cut 18,000 jobs over the next twelve months - the largest round of cuts in the company's history, and a massive 14.4 per cent of its overall headcount. The bulk of these, some 12,500 positions, will come from the company's recently-acquired Nokia mobile arm and represents half the division's staff.
The cuts were announced by chief executive Satya Nadella in an all-staff memo in which he described the ''difficult steps' the company would have to take. 'We are moving now to start reducing the first 13,000 positions, and the vast majority of employees whose jobs will be eliminated will be notified over the next six months,' the memo reads. 'It’s important to note that while we are eliminating roles in some areas, we are adding roles in certain other strategic areas. My promise to you is that we will go through this process in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible. We will offer severance to all employees impacted by these changes, as well as job transition help in many locations, and everyone can expect to be treated with the respect they deserve for their contributions to this company.'
With half the former Nokia staff being shown the door, there's perhaps little surprise in the news that the division's non-Windows products are being cancelled. Microsoft has confirmed that the Android-based Nokia X and the Symbian-based Asha and Series 40 featurephone families will all be discontinued in the coming months. A bigger surprise is the closure of Xbox Entertainment Studios, the company's original-content arm, although it is expected to be permitted to finish the documentary on the excavation of the Atari dump in New Mexico first.
Following rumours of cuts to come, Microsoft has confirmed that it plans to cut 18,000 jobs over the next twelve months - the largest round of cuts in the company's history, and a massive 14.4 per cent of its overall headcount. The bulk of these, some 12,500 positions, will come from the company's recently-acquired Nokia mobile arm and represents half the division's staff.
The cuts were announced by chief executive Satya Nadella in an all-staff memo in which he described the ''difficult steps' the company would have to take. 'We are moving now to start reducing the first 13,000 positions, and the vast majority of employees whose jobs will be eliminated will be notified over the next six months,' the memo reads. 'It’s important to note that while we are eliminating roles in some areas, we are adding roles in certain other strategic areas. My promise to you is that we will go through this process in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible. We will offer severance to all employees impacted by these changes, as well as job transition help in many locations, and everyone can expect to be treated with the respect they deserve for their contributions to this company.'
With half the former Nokia staff being shown the door, there's perhaps little surprise in the news that the division's non-Windows products are being cancelled. Microsoft has confirmed that the Android-based Nokia X and the Symbian-based Asha and Series 40 featurephone families will all be discontinued in the coming months. A bigger surprise is the closure of Xbox Entertainment Studios, the company's original-content arm, although it is expected to be permitted to finish the documentary on the excavation of the Atari dump in New Mexico first.
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