Microsoft is significantly scaling back on its Nokia unit, acquired just 14 months ago, with another major round of layoffs. The Seattle area based company will cut 7,800 jobs to write off $7.6 billion, nearly all the value of its Nokia phone business. “I am committed to our first-party devices including phones,” CEO Satya Nadella wrote in an email to employees. “We are moving from a strategy to grow a standalone phone business to a strategy to grow and create a vibrant Windows ecosystem that includes our first-party device family.” The new plan will focus on three different Microsoft Windows phone customers: business owners who want management apps and security; buyers in the market wanting less expensive phones; and Windows’ users. According to Bloomberg, previous Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and the Board of Directors (including Nadella) were not on the same page when the Nokia devices and services unit was first purchased. Last year, Nadella nixed a staggering 18,000 jobs, mostly from the smartphone sector of the biz. In June, Microsoft announced that it would sell its online display advertising business to AOL.
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