Microsoft said to be set on slashing more jobs

A second round of job cuts at Microsoft are expected to be announced later today.

Back in July, Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said the cuts would be over with by the end of the year.

According to reports by veteran Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley, the next round of job losses will be announced today.

In a letter to employees announcing the July dismissals, Nadella said the cuts were part of an overall realignment of strategy within Microsoft.

The firm ditched 13,000 people in the wake of that letter, with many former Nokia employees being shown the door following the acquisition of that company.

Nadella said the layoffs were the "first step to building the right organisations for our ambitions".

The axed roles are likely to include not only those working in the firm's Operating Systems Group, but just about every other division of the company.

Microsoft is also said to be cutting back on its reliance on non full-time staff as well by up to 20 per cent. As of yet, there are no details on whether any job cuts will be in the UK.

The software giant also announced a boardroom reshuffle with Teri List-Stoll, executive vice president and CFO of Kraft Foods Group, and Charles W. Scharf, chief executive of Visa, joining the board on 1 October. Dave Marquardt, general partner at August Capital, and Dina Dublon, former CFO at JPMorgan Chase, will both retire from Microsoft in December.

The news come just before the firm is expected to unveil its latest operating system Windows 9 on 30 September.

Microsoft was unavailable for comment when contacted.

Rene Millman

Rene Millman is a freelance writer and broadcaster who covers cybersecurity, AI, IoT, and the cloud. He also works as a contributing analyst at GigaOm and has previously worked as an analyst for Gartner covering the infrastructure market. He has made numerous television appearances to give his views and expertise on technology trends and companies that affect and shape our lives. You can follow Rene Millman on Twitter.