Microsoft Reportedly Planning Fresh Job Cull

Microsoft is plotting another wave of redundancies as the company enters the next phase of its restructuring, reports have claimed

The company is expected to announce a major new round of layoffs as early as this week for its 118,000 strong workforce, according to the New York Times, which cited people briefed on the plans as its source.

The cuts are reportedly set to affect people in Microsoft’s hardware group, including its smartphone business (Microsoft Devices Group), after the £4.6bn acquisition of Nokia’s mobile business was finally completed in 2014.

All change

It comes as Redmond continues its organisational changes, as CEO Satya Nadella seeks to turn the company into a more agile organisation able to respond quicker to emerging technology trends. Nadella has now re-organised Microsoft into three main groups, which he says will allow it to create the best “mobile-first, cloud-first” services and platforms for consumers and businesses.

This comes on top of the existing 18,000 job cuts at the software giant, which Redmond announced this time last year.

Last month Nadella sent a memo to all employees, in which he he outlined his vision of making Microsoft one of the most influential companies in the world. He said he wanted to “empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more.”

Tough Choices

Nadella also alluded to the upcoming launch of Windows 10 as a key point for the company. But he also hinted at more changes, and noted that “tough choices” would need to be confronted in the coming fiscal year.

“We will need to innovate in new areas, execute against our plans, make some tough choices in areas where things are not working and solve hard problems in ways that drive customer value,” Nadella said last month.

There have also been rumours about the Windows Phone platform, which is struggling to compete against the domination of Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. Matters were not helped when former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop became the most high profile casualty of the latest restructure at Microsoft.

“Stephen and I have agreed that now is the right time for him to retire from Microsoft. I regret the loss of leadership that this represents, and look forward to seeing where his next destination will be,” said Nadella.

That said, Microsoft is not expected to abandon the Windows Phone platform any time soon, considering that mobile is going to be one of its key drivers going forward. However, there are suggestions that Microsoft will take a large write-down on its Nokia mobile acquisition.

What do you know about Microsoft? Take our quiz!