World’s software giant, Microsoft, says it is planning to cut about 8,000 jobs while reorganizing its Windows Phone unit, which is facing fierce competition in global mobile market.
The move to cut 7,800 jobs, which was announced on Wednesday, represents the company’s second major round of layoffs in a year. Microsoft also slashed about 18,000 jobs a year ago in a bid to integrate the Nokia handset division, AFP reported.
Most of the layoffs will be in the phone division, and the company is also going to write down the value of the phone section it acquired from Nokia by some USD 7.6 billion.
Microsoft released a statement saying it will “restructure the company’s phone hardware business to better focus and align resources.”
Even after acquiring Nokia’s cellphone division, the company has not been able to get much traction for its Windows Phone platform. A recent survey by IDC indicated that Windows Phone was expected to capture only 3.2 percent of the global smartphone market this year.
“I am committed to our first-party devices including phones. However, we need to focus our phone efforts in the near term while driving reinvention,” chief executive, Satya Nadella, said in a memo to staff, adding, “We are moving from a strategy to grow a standalone phone business to a strategy to grow and create a vibrant Windows ecosystem that includes our first-party device family.”
At the end of March, Microsoft had about 118,000 employees worldwide, about half of whom were stationed in the United States.
Microsoft will release Windows 10 in late July, introducing a new operating system which can be used to power not only personal computers but a range of mobile devices.
While still a dominant force in personal computing market, Microsoft has struggled in mobile devices market, where most devices are powered by the Google Android system or Apple’s iOS.
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