Microsoft lays off 18,000, including a third of Nokia, in largest-ever job cuts

From PC World: As expected, the axe fell at Microsoft on Thursday, but the depth of the cut is surprisingly brutal: 18,000 Microsoft employees will find themselves without jobs over the next year, and the company is "moving now" to eliminate the first 13,000 positions. The job cuts are by far Microsoft's largest ever.

Most of the positions affected hail from Nokia's Devices and Services division. Microsoft recently acquired the division and approximately 32,000 Nokia employees for a whopping $7 billion; 12,500 of those people, or nearly a third of the entire team, will be handed pink slips as Microsoft works towards what it calls "synergies and strategic alignment."

In a letter to employees, former Nokia CEO and current Microsoft Devices head Stephen Elop explained that the changes mostly affect the Windows Phone team.

"It is particularly important to recognize that the role of phones within Microsoft is different than it was within Nokia," he wrote. "Whereas the hardware business of phones within Nokia was an end unto itself, within Microsoft all our devices are intended to embody the finest of Microsoft’s digital work and digital life experiences, while accruing value to Microsoft’s overall strategy."

View: Article @ Source Site