Microsoft Corp is set to cut more than 6,000 jobs in an announcement expected early Thursday, according to sources familiar with the matter, as it trims its newly acquired Nokia phone business and reshapes itself as a cloud-computing and mobile-friendly software company.
What could be the deepest job cuts in the company's 39-year history come five months into the tenure of Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella, who outlined plans for a "leaner" business in a public memo to employees last week.
Many of the cuts are expected to come from the Nokia unit, which Microsoft acquired in April for $7.2 billion, pushing up Microsoft's headcount by a quarter to 127,000. Microsoft said when it struck the deal to buy the Finnish phone maker that it would cut $600 million per year in costs within 18 months of closing the acquisition.
Microsoft is also expected to trim staffing at its Xbox game and entertainment unit, which Nadella last week praised but stopped short of describing as a "core" business.
Nadella's cuts are set to be the biggest at the Redmond, Washington-based company since his predecessor Steve Ballmer axed 5,800, or about 6 percent of headcount at that time, in the depths of recession in early 2009.
Microsoft is not alone among the pioneers of the personal computer revolution that are now slimming down as they adapt to the Web-focused world.
Chip maker Intel Corp and network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc both said in the past year they are cutting around 5 percent of their staff.
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