American news agency Bloomberg cites anonymous sources from within the company as saying that a massive round of job cuts is in the offing as Microsoft looks to streamline and integrate Nokia Oyj’s handset unit. Microsoft may announce the reductions as early as this week, according to the finance-focused agency.
Former Nokia workers who were transferred to Microsoft from Nokia last September when the former acquired Nokia’s mobile handset unit are expected to be in the firing line. The reductions will also likely hit personnel in divisions that overlap with that line of business, as well as in marketing and engineering, according to the media outlet’s tip-off.
The restructuring could be the most comprehensive in Microsoft’s history, overshadowing the 5,800 jobs cut in 2009.
Financial publication Talouselämä was the first Finnish media outlet to pick up on Bloomberg’s piece.