Microsoft weighs job cuts

Under a plan to integrate Nokia's mobile phone unit, Microsoft was planning its biggest round of job cuts in five years, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

Citing people with insider knowledge of the matter, the news agency said the payroll reductions could exceed the 5,800 jobs cut at the firm in 2009. The new cuts would mainly hit Nokia, but also parts of Microsoft which overlap with the mobile devices maker's activities.

Earlier this year, Microsoft took over the Finnish handset maker, boosting Microsoft's total workforce to 127,000 - significantly more employees than are on the payrolls of rivals Apple and Google.

According to Bloomberg, some of the layoffs would be made in marketing departments for businesses such as the global Xbox team, and among software testers, while other job cuts may result from changes to the engineering organization.

Last week, Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella reportedly circulated a memo to employees promising to "flatten the organization and develop leaner business processes," but he deferred any comment on job cuts.

Nadella said he would address detailed organizational and financial issues for the company's new financial year, which started on July 1st, when Microsoft reports quarterly results on July 22.

A spokesperson for Nokia reached by Deutsche Welle said that "Nokia has a policy that we do not comment on rumors".

uhe/nz (Bloomberg, Reuters, dpa)