Microsoft to announce 'thousands' of job cuts this week

[bsaambl]

MICROSOFT IS REPORTEDLY preparing to axe "thousands" of employees, according to a report at TechCrunch.

According to the report, which comes via a "source with knowledge of the planned downsizing", Microsoft is preparing to lay off staff from all around the world, with an official announcement tipped to take place later this week.

Microsoft's fiscal year ended on 30 June, so the timing of the cutbacks could be tied to the company's move into a new fiscal year, which started on 1 July.

This downsizing will also include an "organisational merger" that reportedly involves Microsoft's enterprise customer unit and one or more of its SME-focused divisions. 

Bloomberg is also reporting that a Microsoft staffing shuffle is in the works, with the firm looking to reorganise its business so that it can "better focus on selling cloud software". 


"The shifts will be some of the most significant in the sales force in years," the report said.

The move follows a number of organisational changes introduced in January affecting Microsoft's sales and marketing teams. That reshuffle saw several of those teams move under the command of Judston Altoff, executive vice president of Microsoft's Worldwide Commercial Business Group.

ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley says the number of job cuts might not be as big as TechCrunch and Bloomberg are reporting, adding that the reshuffle comes as Altoff looks to refocus Microsoft's sales team on selling Azure and other cloud services in a bid to catch up with market leader Amazon. 

Microsoft, naturally, declined to comment on the reports.