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Microsoft has confirmed rumours of its job reductions, cutting up to 7,800 positions primarily in its phone business.
As a result of the job losses, the company will record an impairment charge of approximately $7.6 billion (£4.9 billion) related to assets associated with the acquisition of Nokia.
Today’s plans were outlined in an email sent to employees by Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella.
It said: “We are moving from a strategy to grow a standalone phone business to a strategy to grow and create a vibrant Windows ecosystem including our first-party device family.
“In the near-term, we’ll run a more effective and focused phone portfolio while retaining capability for long-term reinvention in mobility.”
The changes in Microsoft’s workforce are expected to be almost complete by the end of the calendar year and fully completed by the end of the firm’s fiscal year.
The layoffs are allegedly an addition to the 18,000 job cuts Microsoft announced last year.
The firm said that those 18,000 layoffs were part of a plan ‘to simplify its organisation and align the recently acquired Nokia Devices and Services business with the company’s overall strategy’.
According to The New York Times, Frank X Shaw, a Microsoft spokesperson, declined to comment on the news earlier today.
Microsoft’s plans regarding its future job cuts were first outlined in an email sent to employees, where Nadella revealed plans to ‘realign’ the workforce.
Microsoft also previously cut 2,100 jobs in September last year as part of the plan to lay off 18,000 employees.
This news comes after Microsoft revealed that more businesses should get on board with flexible working hours.
