Microsoft reboots itself: Firm set for biggest ever job cuts as it tries to keep up with Apple and Google
comments
Microsoft is set to cut thousands of jobs in its biggest ever restructuring.
The firm is believed to be planning the reorganisation as it integrates the mobile phone make Nokia it recently bought.
The reductions, expected to be announced as soon as this week, could be in the Nokia unit and the parts of Microsoft that overlap with that business, as well as in marketing and engineering, Bloomberg reported.
The restructuring may end up being the biggest in Microsoft history, topping the 5,800 jobs cut in 2009, the report said.
Since absorbing the handset business of Nokia this spring, Microsoft has 127,000 employees, far more than rivals Apple and Google.
Wall Street is expecting Chief Executive Satya Nadella to make major cuts, which would represent Microsoft's first major layoffs since 2009.
The restructuring may end up being the biggest in Microsoft history, topping the 5,800 jobs cut in 2009, the report said.
Some of the job cuts will be in marketing departments for businesses such as the global Xbox team, and among software testers, while other job cuts may result from changes Nadella is making to the engineering organization, Bloomberg reported.
Despite the problems, Microsoft shares have climbed 13 percent so far this year.
Last week, Nadella circulated a memo to employees promising to 'flatten the organization and develop leaner business processes' but deferred any comment on widely expected job cuts at the software company.
Nadella said he would address detailed organizational and financial issues for the company's new financial year, which started at the beginning of this month, when Microsoft reports quarterly results on July 22.
Microsoft could not be immediately reached for comment outside regular business hours.
THE PC FIGHTS BACK
A two-year slump in personal computer sales ended in the second quarter, helped by improving demand in developed markets like North America and Europe.
PC sales have fallen in recent years, hurt by surging demand for tablets and other mobile devices. Tough economic conditions around the world have also disrupted sales.
But quarterly figures released Wednesday by the research firms Gartner Inc. and International Data Corp. show the global slump is easing.
During the April to June quarter, Gartner said PC shipments edged up 0.1 percent to 75.8 million units. IDC, which also tracks PC shipments, had slightly different figures.
Better sales in developed markets and interest in lower-priced PC models like the Chromebook, which uses Google's operating system and starts at $199, helped boost results.
IDC vice president Loren Loverde said the better-than-expected results are partly due to a rebound from weaker demand last year, and potentially short-term replacement activity.
'We can look for some recovery in emerging regions going forward, but it may coincide with slower growth in mature regions, and we do not see the recent gains as a motive to raise the long-term outlook,' he said in a statement.
Sales were strongest in Europe, the U.S. and Canada.
Emerging markets continued to see declines, however, hurt by weak economies and competition from low-cost tablets.
In the U.S., shipments rose 6.9 percent, spurred by businesses replacing office PCs and consumers updating Windows XP systems. Microsoft retired the Windows XP operating system earlier this year.
'One encouraging factor was a good intake of lower-end systems, including Chromebooks, which coincides with the recent slowing in tablet growth and perhaps signals the beginning of some stabilization on the consumer side,' said IDC Senior Research Analyst Jay Chou.
IDC analyst Rajani Singh added that strong back-to-school and holiday seasons could help the U.S. PC market stay in positive territory for the rest of the year.
Put the internet to work for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment