Microsoft to Lay Off Thousands as it Integrates Nokia's Handset Business

Microsoft is preparing for what could be its biggest ever round of job cuts, topping the 5,800 layoffs it made in 2009, as the tech giant begins the task of integrating Nokia's handset unit.

The cuts would involve jobs in Nokia and divisions of Microsoft that overlap with that business, as well as marketing and engineering, accroding to a report Bloomberg which said the cuts would be announced this week.

Some of the job cuts will be in marketing departments for businesses such as the global Xbox team, according to the report. The European Xbox team is based in Reading.

Following the acquisition of Nokia, Microsoft currently employs 127,000 people, which is significantly higher than rivals Apple and Google.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has made it clear the company must refocus on mobile devices, cloud-computing and productivity software.

When Microsoft agreed to acquire Nokia's mobile phone business in September 2013, it announced $600m in annual cost savings in the 18 months after the deal settlement.

In order to keep that commitment, areas that overlap are to be trimmed, while Nadella's proposed changes to the company have also meant streamlining.

The innovation-driven technology sector has seen thousands of job cuts recently. In May, Hewlett-Packard announced that it will eliminate as many as 16,000 jobs on top of 34,000 already cut. That was part of the company's move to save costs as it reported declining sales for the 11<sup>th straight quarter.