Microsoft to cut another 2,850 jobs in smartphone business and sales

Microsoft will eliminate about 2,850 jobs globally in its smartphone division by the end of 2017, in addition to the 1,850 cuts announced earlier this year, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The company's plan to streamline its smartphone hardware business announced in May resulted in up to 1,350 cuts at Microsoft Mobile Oy in Finland and an additional 500 job losses globally. Those working for Microsoft Oy, which is a separate sales subsidiary based in Espoo, were not affected by the job cuts.

The latest cuts will again affect jobs across Microsoft's hardware business and global sales, as part of the company's restructuring plans. As of 30 June, the company employed 114,000 people — 63,000 in the US and 51,000 globally.

Some 38,000 employees were in operations including manufacturing, distribution, product support and consulting services, 37,000 in product research and development, 29,000 in sales and marketing and 10,000 in general administration.

Last July, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella announced 7,800 cuts globally. The company wrote down an impairment charge of $7.6bn (£5.8bn) related to its Nokia Devices and Services business, in addition to a restructuring charge of $750m to $850m.

Nokia has, meanwhile, announced plans to see the Nokia brand return to the mobile phone and tablet markets. Under a strategic agreement for branding rights and intellectual property licensing, Nokia will grant HMD Gglobal Oy an exclusive licence to create its own branded phones and tablets for the next 10 years.

According to a Gartner report in May, worldwide smartphone sales grew 3.9% in the first quarter of 2016. While Android devices had 84% of the global market share, Windows devices accounted for less than 1%.