Microsoft's big shakeup: job losses and product cuts under a new CEO

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced today that the company will be laying off 18,000 employees over the next year, the largest round of cutbacks in Microsoft's history. For anyone who loses their job, that's painful news — but in the context of big layoffs at some of Redmond's peers, Nadella's move is also quite severe. We stacked up the job cuts that have taken place at Microsoft, which were principally targeting the company's Mobile division and the employees it took on when it acquired Nokia. We compared that to the cuts made by Google across Motorola Mobility and layoffs at HP, Intel, and BlackBerry since 2011. In terms of raw numbers, Microsoft's announcement is the second largest — and it's also the second-highest percentage of overall workforce after BlackBerry. While it's not included in this chart, the worst off in terms of total cuts would have to be Nokia, which has let go a total of more than 50,000 employees since Stephen Elop took over in September of 2010.

Microsoft is planning to scrap its Nokia X Android efforts and replace them with Windows Phone in the future. The news comes as part of today's announcement that Microsoft is cutting 18,000 jobs in the next year. In an email to former Nokia staff, Microsoft devices chief Stephen Elop details the company's renewed focus on Windows Phone. "In addition to the portfolio already planned, we plan to deliver additional lower-cost Lumia devices by shifting select future Nokia X designs and products to Windows Phone devices," says Elop. "We expect to make this shift immediately while continuing to sell and support existing Nokia X products."

While many were surprised by Nokia's decision to produce Android-based handsets, the Nokia X debuted earlier this year, and Microsoft recently announced its successor the X2 just last month. The shift means any future Nokia X handsets will run Windows Phone, resulting in the end of Microsoft's Android efforts. Alongside the changes, Microsoft also appears to be focusing its mobile future on where Windows Phone is successful. "We will determine each market approach based on local market dynamics, our ability to profitably deliver local variants, current Lumia momentum and the strategic importance of the market to Microsoft," says Elop. "We will be particularly focused on making the market for Windows Phone. In the near term, we plan to drive Windows Phone volume by targeting the more affordable smartphone segments, which are the fastest-growing segments of the market, with Lumia."