14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is expected to announce its biggest ever job cut sometime this week, and according to a new report, this could take place as soon as tomorrow.
Reuters is reporting via sources familiar with the matter that Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella would release a public announcement on the proposed job cuts on Thursday morning in the United States, with most of the layoffs to take place within the Nokia unit that has only recently been acquired.
This new job cut is expected to top the one announced by Steve Ballmer in 2009 when the company fired 5,800 employees, or approximately 6 percent of its workforce that year.
At this point, Microsoft has more than 127,000 employees, with nearly 25,000 coming from Nokia after the $7.2 billion (€6.8 billion) deal that was completed in April.
Microsoft has already said that, as part of the acquisition, it intends to cut costs by approximately $600 million (€440 million) per year within the first 18 months after the deal goes through.
Of course, everyone's waiting for Nadella's announcement on this and today could be the day when the CEO finally makes this plan public. We'll keep an eye on any news coming out on this and get back as more information emerges.
Update: and it's official. Microsoft has just confirmed that it's firing 18,000 people in the next year.