Microsoft to cut 18,000 jobs in major reorganization

Microsoft said Thursday it would slash 18,000 jobs from its global workforce over the next year, the majority from the integration of the Nokia unit acquired this year.
      
A Microsoft statement said the move is part of "a restructuring plan to simplify its operations and align the recently acquired Nokia Devices and Services business with the company's overall strategy."        The cuts represent about 14 percent of Microsoft's global payroll of some 127,000. The company will take a charge of between $1.1 billion and $1.6 billion for costs related to the layoffs.
      
Of the total, some 12,500 professional and factory positions from Nokia "will be eliminated through synergies and strategic alignment," Microsoft said.
      
Chief executive Satya Nadella said in an email to employees that the "difficult but necessary" cuts are part of a plan to bring a new strategic direction to the US tech giant.
      
"The first step to building the right organization for our ambitions is to realign our workforce.
      
"It's important to note that while we are eliminating roles in some areas, we are adding roles in certain other strategic areas."       

Nadella added that "we are moving now to start reducing the first 13,000 positions, and the vast majority of employees whose jobs will be eliminated will be notified over the next six months."        Microsoft completed its takeover of Nokia's phone unit in April in a move that strengthened its position in mobile devices. The cost was around $7.5 billion.
      
The moves come with Nadella, who became CEO earlier this year, seeking to reinvigorate a company that had been the world's largest but which has lagged in...