Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has announced the company plans to cut 18,000 jobs within the next year, of which former Nokia employees account for approximately 12,500 of the jobs being eliminated.
The cut is the biggest ever for Microsoft and Nadella says, “We are moving now to start reducing the first 13,000 positions, and the vast majority of employees whose jobs will be eliminated will be notified over the next six month.
“Our workforce reductions are mainly driven by two outcomes: work simplification as well as Nokia Devices and Services integration synergies and strategic alignment.”
This announcement from Microsoft should not come as a huge surprise as Nadella has made it clear recently that the focus of the company is shifting away from devices and services and more towards mobile and cloud innovations.
Nadella says, “I absolutely believe that in a world where there are going to be many screen sizes, and ecosystems across all of those screen sizes, and cloud services that’ll be available on all ecosystems, that’s what Microsoft’s future is.”
