14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is getting ready for another major layoff that would affect thousands of workers across the world, a new report reveals.
An announcement in this regard is expected later this week, TechCrunch notes, adding that sources close to the matter indicated that the restructuring process is mostly aimed at the software giant’s salesforce and would include an organizational merger.
This means that Microsoft is planning to unify the enterprise customer unit and one or more SME-focused divisions, the same report adds.
There’s a good chance that the massive layoff plan that the company is getting ready to announce is related to some internal changes that Microsoft made last year and which had COO Kevin Turner leaving the company.
Perfect timing for job cuts
Executives Judson Althoff and Jean-Philippe Courtois are currently leading Microsoft’s sales and marketing divisions, and the layoff could be part of a broader plan to improve Azure and to help Microsoft get closer to rival Amazon in the cloud business market.
Microsoft is no stranger of massive job cuts, with the biggest layoff announced just after the company purchased Nokia’s devices and services unit in mid-2015. A total of 18,000 jobs were eliminated across the world in several rounds, with the most recent taking place late last year when 2,850 employees were let go, including approximately 900 from the sales team.
As the aforementioned source notes, the timing is just right for Microsoft to announce new job cuts, not only because the fiscal year ends this month, but also because the company in the past unveiled its biggest layoffs in the summer as well, including the ones after the Nokia takeover.
An announcement in this regard is very likely to be made in just a few days, so we’ll keep you posted when the size of the layoff is revealed.