Microsoft to cut 18,000 jobs this year as it chops Nokia

Microsoft to cut 18,000 jobs this year as it chops Nokia

Bill Rigby
Reuters 

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp will slash up to 18,000 jobs, or 14 percent of its workforce, this year as it almost halves the size of its newly acquired Nokia phone business and tries to transform into a cloud-computing and mobile-friendly software company.

The larger-than-expected cuts, announced on Thursday, are the deepest in the company's 39-year history and come five months into the tenure of Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella. He outlined plans for a "leaner" business in a public memo to employees last week.

"We will simplify the way we work to drive greater accountability, become more agile and move faster," Nadella wrote to employees in a memo made public early Thursday. "We plan to have fewer layers of management, both top down and sideways, to accelerate the flow of information and decision making."
Beyond the Nokia reductions, Nadella gave few clues about where the axe will fall or what areas will receive more funding, saying he will flesh out his plans after Microsoft's quarterly earnings report on July 22.
The size of the cuts were welcomed by Wall Street, which viewed Microsoft as bloated under previous CEO Steve Ballmer, topping 127,000 in headcount after absorbing Nokia earlier this year.

"This is about double what the Street was expecting," said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. "Nadella is clearing the decks for the new fiscal year. He is cleaning up part of the mess that Ballmer left."
Microsoft shares jumped 1.7 percent to $44.84 on Nasdaq, reaching their highest since the technology stock boom of 2000.

About 12,500 of the layoffs will come from eliminating overlaps with the Nokia unit, which Microsoft acquired in April for $7.2 billion (4.21 billion pounds), with the bulk of the cuts coming from Nokia itself. The acquisition of Nokia's handset business in April added 25,000 people to Microsoft's payroll.