Microsoft to Cut 18,000 Jobs Over the Next Year

Microsoft today announced its biggest ever job cut that would affect 18,000 employees. In a letter to employees, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told employees would cut 18,000 positions over the next year -- 12,500 of those being former Nokia employees.

The first step to building the right organization for our ambitions is to realign our workforce. With this in mind, we will begin to reduce the size of our overall workforce by up to 18,000 jobs in the next year. Of that total, our work toward synergies and strategic alignment on Nokia Devices and Services is expected to account for about 12,500 jobs, comprising both professional and factory workers. 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 months. It’s important to note that while we are eliminating roles in some areas, we are adding roles in certain other strategic areas. My promise to you is that we will go through this process in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible. 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.

Satya notes that the job cuts are driven by 'work simplification' and Nokia devices and services integration. The company says it will 'move faster and become more agile' as well as work to Integrate Nokia Devices and Services team into Microsoft as a result of these layoffs.


Currently Microsoft has about 127,000 employees, and cutting 18,000 jobs would reduce its workforce by nearly 15%.

You can read the entire letter to employees here.