Anxiety has gripped workers of tech giants, Microsoft Nigeria as the firm prepares to cut about 18,000 jobs over the next one year. It is part of the tech titan’s efforts to streamline its business under new Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella.
An industry source said the plan has demoralised workers even in the Nokia office in the country where everybody is unsure whose name would be on the list of people that would be asked to go any time from now.
According to the source, the management of the firm in its headquarter in the United States (U.S.) is compiling the list of the workers that will be affected in the two organisations, adding that a pall of uncertainty has now enveloped the two organisations.
“Everybody is just waiting for the list and there is a general air of uncertainty as nobody knows who will be affected. We just come to work every day unsure of when letters would be distributed. So, for the wise ones among us, it will not come as a surprise. We are beginning to look inwards,” the source added.
In a statement, Microsoft said about 12,500 of the professional and factory positions will be cut as part of its $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia’s handset business.
Nadella in a memo to employees was quoted to have written: “My promise to you is that we will go through this process in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible.”
Nadella, who replaced Steve Ballmer in February, said the “vast majority” of employees affected by layoffs will be notified within the next six months. They will also earn severance and job transition help in many locations. All cuts will be completed by next June.
The layoffs by Microsoft — which employs 125,000 people — are the company’s largest ever. The acquisition of Nokia’s handset business in April added 25,000 people to Microsoft’s payroll.
Microsoft expects to incur pre-tax charges as high as $1.6 billion over the next four quarters, which will include $750 million to $800 million for severance and related benefit costs, and $350 million to $800 million of asset-related charges.
Nadella had sent a memo to employees reinforcing his vision for a “mobile-first, cloud-first” world, focusing on unifying its software and hardware.
“Microsoft has a unique ability to harmonise the world’s devices, apps, docs, data and social networks in digital work and life experiences so that people are at the center and are empowered to do more and achieve more with what is becoming an increasingly scarce commodity — time!” Nadella wrote.
Gartner analyst Merv Adrian says Nadella recognizes Microsoft cannot operate with a “Windows first at all costs model” and has started shaping the company to thrive in a tech space with multiple platforms and devices. “It’s been a very consistent delivery on the promises he’s made so far,” he says.
Microsoft is the latest tech giant suffering through a round of layoffs.
In May, personal computer firm, Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced it would cut an additional 11,000 to 16,000 jobs as part of a massive restructuring.
Earlier this year, IBM said it would take a $1 billion charge for “workforce re-balancing.”
Chip maker Intel and network-equipment maker Cisco Systems both said in the past year they were cutting about five per cent of their workforces.
