Microsoft makes massive job slashing move

Microsoft will be slashing 18,00o jobs, its biggest ever job cut in 39 years. This is nearly 14% of its work force.In a public letter to the employees, recently appointed CEO, Satya Nadella said the Nokia Devices and Services is expected to account for about 12,500 jobs, comprising both professional and factory workers that will be slashed. He added that the majority of employees whose jobs will be eliminated will be notified over the next six months.Nadella also added that the company is looking to integrate the Nokia Devices and Services teams into Microsoft. In addition, the company plans to “shift select Nokia X product designs to become Lumia products running Windows”. This is to build on its success in the affordable smartphone space and align with its focus on Windows Universal Apps.When asked how the job cuts would affect its Asian markets, a spokesperson told Marketing: “The process we are following varies widely internationally, according to the prevailing local laws and regulations; in many countries proposed job eliminations are subject to employee consultation and/or external review.  For this reason, we cannot provide market-specific numbers.”In the letter, Nadella said the reduction were driven by two outcomes. He said:“First, we will simplify the way we work to drive greater accountability, become more agile and move faster. As part of modernising our engineering processes the expectations we have from each of our disciplines will change. In addition, we plan to have fewer layers of management, both top down and sideways, to accelerate the flow of information and decision making. This includes flattening organizations and increasing the span of control of people managers. In addition, our business processes and support models will be more lean and efficient with greater trust between teams.”Through the changes he aims for a more “productive, impactful team” across Microsoft.Meanwhile, reported on Forbes, Xbox chief Phil Spencer said in a statement that as part of the planned reduction to the overall workforce, the Xbox division will see a streamlining of a handful of portfolio and engineering development efforts. One such plan is that, in the coming months, the organisation expects to close Xbox Entertainment Studios.The Xbox Entertainment Studios was originally launched to push the position of as part of its effort to position Xbox as an all-in-one entertainment device. The closure comes a month after Microsoft aired its first original series. in 2012, Nancy Tellem, former president of CBS Network Television Entertainment Group was also hired to lead the division as entertainment & digital media president.Microsoft was unable to comment at the time of writing on the impact the job cuts will have on its APAC marketing team.