Microsoft announced another round of layoffs Wednesday, cutting another 7,800 jobs just one year after laying off 18,000 employees from its workforce. The cuts, which comprise more than 6 percent of the company's total workforce, are part of Microsoft's overhaul of its struggling phone business. In yet another acknowledgement of just how badly its smartphone business has been faring, Microsoft will also take a $7.6 billion impairment charge for its acquisition of Nokia's handset business, which it bought in 2014 for $7.9 billion.
Industry insiders had long been expecting Microsoft to make an announcement along these lines. In the company's last quarter, it "spent $1.8 billion to sell $1.4 billion of phones," Business Insider reports, losing roughly 12 cents on every phone sold. USA Today reports that, since the company's announcement on Wednesday morning, shares of Microsoft are already up more than 1 percent.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freezeSpeed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
-
Wicked fails to defy gravityTalking Point Film version of hit stage musical weighed down by 'sense of self-importance'
-
Today's political cartoons - November 20, 2024Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - mountaineering, an even match, and more
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strikeSpeed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
-
US economy still strong in final preelection reportSpeed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strikeSpeed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
-
Ports reopen after dockworkers halt strikeSpeed Read The 36 ports that closed this week, from Maine to Texas, will start reopening today
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homesSpeed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bidSpeed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detenteSpeed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
