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Microsoft to axe 1,850 jobs as smartphone business shrinks further

Paul Withers
May 25, 2016

Latest round of cuts to be completed by July 2017 at a cost of $950 million

Microsoft is axing 1,850 jobs in its smartphone business as the tech giant looks to further streamline that division.

This will see it take an impairment and restructuring charge of $950 million, of which around $200 million will relate to severance payments.

From the total jobs cuts, around 1,350 will come from Microsoft Mobile Oy in Finland, with the remaining 500 being made globally.

Microsoft said the changes are expected to be substantially complete by the end of the calendar year, and fully completed by July 2017, the end of the company’s financial year.

It will provide more information on these changes in its fourth quarter financial results announcement on July 19, 2016, and in its 2016 Annual Report.

Continue to innovate

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (pictured) said: “We are focusing our phone efforts where we have differentiation – with enterprises that value security, manageability and our Continuum capability, and consumers who value the same.

“We will continue to innovate across devices and our cloud services across all mobile platforms.”

It is the latest round of jobs cuts by Microsoft, after it announced plans last July to lay off 7,800 staff as part of a restructure of its phone and hardware business, with an impairment charge of $7.6 billion.

Last week, it agreed to sell its feature phone division to Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile and HMD Global for $350 million (£240 million).

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