14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is currently getting through a major reorganization plan supposed to help Redmond focus more on devices and services, even though Steve Ballmer, the current leader of the company, is expected to retire within the next 12 months.
AllThingsD is now reporting that more internal changes are currently taking place inside the company, with the board planning to appoint a new head of the operating system division to revamp Windows and the other adjacent products.
Sources close to the matter have revealed that Terry Myerson, who was named chief of the OS division as part of Ballmer’s reorganization, will remain in charge of this unit, but Joe Belfiore, previously head of Windows Phone, will be responsible for a new unit focused on phones, tablets and PCs running Windows.
At the same time, Henry Sanders is expected to lead a new team specifically designed on the development of Microsoft’s operating system, while Dean Hachamovitch will remain in charge of Internet Explorer.
Marc Whitten will become head of the Xbox team, while Chris Jones will take care of services.
Surprisingly, some of the high-profile executives within Microsoft don’t seem to be part of this new reorganization, including testing boss Grant George and Antoine Leblond. While there are no details regarding a potential departure of the two execs, word is that some employees are unsettled following Ballmer’s retirement.
“There is always a small percentage of people who do lose their job, or get put into an awkward new role. For those people, morale is very bad, of course. But whoever you talk to, they all noticed that the stock went up on the Ballmer (retirement) news. If sustained, that will make morale improve broadly,” a company employee was quoted as saying by Reuters.
We’ve reached out to Microsoft for an official statement on this, so we’ll update the article when and if we get an answer.