Microsoft to slash 18,000 jobs within the next year

13,000 laid off will be informed within the next 6 months.

By Deepak Chitnis

WASHINGTON, DC: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told employees on Wednesday that the software giant will “reduce the size of [its] overall workforce by up to 18,000 jobs” within the next year.

The announcement of the job cuts came in the form of a company-wide email Nadella sent out to all employees, and which was released to the public by Microsoft. In the email, Nadella states that the Nokia Devices and Services division will account for about 12,500 of the jobs lost during its “strategic alignment,” that the process of eliminating the first 13,000 has already begun, and that those affected by the first round of lay-offs will be notified over the next six months.

“My promise to you is that we will go through this process in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible,” said Nadella. “We will offer severance to all employees impacted by these changes, as well as job transition help in many locations, and everyone can expect to be treated with the respect they deserve for their contributions to this company.”

Nadella stated that although more details about the upcoming lay-offs and Microsoft’s vision for the future would be unveiled during the July 22 public earnings call, the new CEO shared two parts of his plan for the company’s immediate future – namely, that Microsoft will work towards creating an environment of “greater accountability,” and the smooth integration of Microsoft’s recently acquired Nokia division.

The specifics of Nadella’s plan involves “[accelerating] the flow of information and decision making,” “flattening organizations and increasing the span of control of people managers,” and ensuring that “business processes and support models will be more lean and efficient with greater trust between teams.”

“The overall result of these changes will be more productive, impactful teams across Microsoft. These changes will affect both the Microsoft workforce and our vendor staff. Each organization is starting at different points and moving at different paces,” Nadella said.

Nadella did not specify, however, whether or not all of these jobs would be based in the US. The announcement of job cuts also comes on the heels of US immigration reform being dead for the near future, adding a political layer to Nadella’s announcement. The Microsoft downsizing and significant restructuring is the first major move that Nadella has overseen since taking the helm of the company as its third-ever CEO back in February.

Nadella has an immense amount of confidence from those within Microsoft and those within the industry at large, and all eyes will be on the IT powerhouse as it moves forward after cutting such a large number of workers.