In February 2014, Microsoft chose Satya Nadella to be their new CEO. Many felt that changes were going to be made, whether they were pleasant or not. But did anybody see this?
Microsoft is expected to cut over 18,000 jobs over the next year. Keep in mind? Microsoft only has 125,000 employees. The majority of these cuts will come from Nokia, the phone manufacturer purchased by Microsoft. But the job shaving doesn’t stop with Nokia. Over 5,000 jobs will be cut in other areas of Microsoft. Don’t think Microsoft management is safe: In fact, that’s where many of the jobs will be cut. Mr. Nadella is looking for kind of ‘cultural change’, where future layers of oversight will be cut down to allow for greater accountability and better decision making. The crazy thing is this morning, July 17, 2014, Microsoft’s stock jumped three percent.
This is several times more than the previous record Microsoft let go. That was 5,000 employees in 2009 due to the Great Recession. But I’m weary of this job loss. I will give them credit, at least they’re giving people time to make some decisions and save some money before the ax comes down. I read somewhere where Mr. Nadella wants to do away with tradition and push for innovation. I’m all for innovation, believe me. We live in a changing world, and we need innovation to thrive and survive. But at the risk of this many people? And couldn’t some of these managers he’s letting go actually help the Nokia/Microsoft transition? And I know there has to be casualties in mergers, but this many? What good is this massive layoff going to do, except put more people in the unemployment line?