14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft will lay off thousands of workers as part of another internal reorganization process, this time with sales people to be primarily affected, according to reports.
While the software giant has not provided an official announcement regarding the job cut, a company spokesperson did confirm in a statement for CNBC that some company workers are being notified about the layoff, though no specifics have been provided.
“Microsoft is implementing changes to better serve our customers and partners. Today, we are taking steps to notify some employees that their jobs are under consideration or that their positions will be eliminated. Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis. This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time-to-time, re-deployment in others,” the company spokesperson was quoted as saying.
10 percent of all sales staff impacted
According to the same source citing company insiders, approximately 3,000 people would be affected by the layoff, most of them part of sales staff. This represents approximately 10 percent of the total sales workforce, the report continues.
This new round of layoffs is part of a broader reorganization process that started after the current CEO Satya Nadella replaced Steve Ballmer at the helm of the company in 2014. Microsoft laid off 18,000 people after purchasing Nokia’s Devices and Services unit, a takeover that former CEO Steve Ballmer started, with the mobile unit hit the hardest.
Microsoft, however, has been cutting jobs in almost every single unit, and now it looks like sales staff is primarily target, with workers from all across the world, and not only the United States, to be affected.
The layoffs would expand over several weeks and months, and Microsoft has only now started notifying affected employees. More information will probably be provided as more workers are informed they’re being let go, with the company also expected to detail this round of layoffs in an internal memo.