Microsoft Cutting 18,000 Jobs From Workforce Due to Nokia Merger

Late last week we discussed the possibility of Microsoft eliminating jobs, due to the coming merger, and a hinted memo from CEO Satya Nadella. The CEO stated they were looking to streamline operations and that looks to be taking place by eliminating 18,000 jobs by next year. The memo released July 17th, states the company will begin the removal of 13,000 employees from their positions. Over the next six months, affected employees will receive notice.

Nadella did nothing to soften the blow for employees who face unemployment. He stated some of the jobs will be recouped, but in different positions with a new strategy.

Sadly, much of the cuts will be issued against Nokia factory and professional employees. Due to the merger with Microsoft, they faced the biggest threat of elimination. The remainder of the 5,500 cuts will come from Microsoft’s sales, marketing and engineering divisions. Employees anxiously await to determine if they will receive notice of their jobs being replaced or eliminated.

The completion of the job losses will conclude June of 2015, where Microsoft is looking to save up to $1.6 billion annually. Nadella has a bright future in mind for Microsoft and that would include reformulating how processes and employees respond.

Microsoft currently employs 127,104 workers, after the Nokia merger. The elimination will account for 15 percent of the workforce across the globe. A move Wall Street is happy with, as the company was becoming known for maintaining a bloated payroll.

Nadella stated he is looking to move into a position that rivals Microsoft fiercely against Apple and Google. The company will be moving into cloud computing and expanding their mobile software division.

Many analysts expected job cuts and estimated a few thousand employees would be laid off, but very few expected such a massive cut will be forthcoming. For employees who want answers, Nadella is holding a town hall meeting at the Microsoft headquarters located in Redmond, Washington on July 22.