Microsoft plans worldwide round of job cuts, according to report

Microsoft, which employs almost 2,000 people in Ireland, could announce at least 5,800 job losses worldwide within a matter of days, it has emerged.

Anonymous sources within the technology giant told the Bloomberg news agency that the reductions will take place in areas such as Nokia, whose handset unit the company acquired in 2013, and divisions of Microsoft that overlap with that business, as well as in marketing and engineering.

Bloomberg reported that sources said the job losses could exceed the 5,800 which occurred in 2009.

A spokeswoman for Microsoft’s Irish operation said the reports of the job losses were only speculation and the company would not be commenting on them. Last week, Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella issued a mission statement to its 127,000 employees, calling for greater emphasis on mobile devices, cloud-computing and productivity software.

He said the company needed to become more focused and efficient, adding that he would provide more specifics later this month.

It is likely that will happen when Mr Nadella announces Microsoft’s latest quarterly earnings on July 22.

When Microsoft first opened its doors in Ireland in 1985 when it employed just over 100 people.

Microsoft Ireland now has four distinct operations at its campus in Sandyford in Dublin, employing more than 1,200 full time employees and 700 full-time contract staff. Microsoft’s operations here include softwaredevelopment and testing, localisation, operations, finance, IT, HR and sales and marketing, both here in Ireland and across Europe, Middle East and Africa.