Microsoft cuts Windows Phone jobs

Most of the job cuts will be in the phone hardware business, underscoring the company’s shift in focus to software and cloud from hardware.

The new job cuts and restructuring will also mean a $7.6 billion writedown for the company, a one-time charge that many have been expecting, according to CNN.

Some 2,300 of the 7,800 layoffs announced in the memo will be in Finland, where Nokia is based.

Microsoft announced it would buy the Finnish company’s handset unit in September 2013, weeks after then-CEO Steve Ballmer announced he would retire within the following 12 months.

At present, Microsoft has six smartphone series on the market, ranging from ultra-budget to flagship in terms of pricing, and many of these series feature more than one device.

It’s been just over a year since Microsoft bought Nokia’s phone business, and now the software company is admitting it hasn’t gone according to plan.

Going forward, we will focus on building the very best Windows phones on a quicker timeline.

Though it is not completely clear what Microsoft’s future in the mobile device world looks like, the company is resourceful and has never lacked ideas.

The latest job cuts are in addition to the 18,000 jobs that Redmond said it planned to cut a year ago.

Microsoft is backing down from its attempt to become a major smartphone maker, saying today that it is moving away from efforts to build “a standalone phone business”.

Microsoft is struggling to break into the mobile market, which is dominated by Apple Inc and Google Inc’s Android.

Microsoft’s current CEO, Satya Nadella, stated that the company will now begin to focus on a broader “ecosystem” of products.

Microsoft said it will pare back its mobile initiative from selling handsets to trying to win customers to the Windows 10 platform and associated services.

“I am committed to our first-party devices including phones,” he wrote. Microsoft also said that it would write down $7.6 billion related to its Nokia business.

Microsoft is due to start rolling out Windows 10 later this month, introducing a new operating system that can be used to power not only personal computers but a range of mobile devices.