News Microsoft to slash 18,000 jobs

Very sad. MS took the wrong approach in trying to get better penetration in the mobile phone market. They bought a hardware company when the hardware wasn't the problem. Windows phone 8 is getting better, but the app market is still terrible. They need to provide incentives to app developers. Apps are why we buy smart phones.

 

It's no surprise that after two companies merge, there is a duplicate of resources and of course this means reductions in staff....I am sure Microsoft was already resource heavy already, adding to the woes.

Nokia does not sell as much as it used to, does not produce as much as it used to, so it's clear that they don't need as many people as they used to either....although Microsoft probably missed a trick by not getting them involved in Xbox.

The top number is 18000 positions will be axed, but EU employees will have a massive payout and I certain MS will see right by those not covered by such redundant friendly laws - of course some of these will be offered new positions so the number of people actually leaving the company will be less than the headline.....still a big number though.

Treedude makes a good point about the apps - viber on windows phone is nothing more than a texting app compared to it's android counterpart......not necessarily looking for more apps (although I sure others will be), but I'd be happy to see app feature sets running on windows phones to be equal or better than those on other platforms...for that to happen MS has to be more open and cost effective.

 

It would seem Finish politicians aren't to pleased about these job cuts.

How Nokia's Finnish homeland took the news of Microsoft cuts
http://www.zdnet.com/how-nokias-finnish-homeland-took-the-news-of-microsoft-cuts-7000031770/

 

10% of that cut will come from single factory - Nokia factory at Komarom, Hungary. And all of them are axed, they are just simple factory workers, so they are unlikely to get new positions.

And massive payout ? Forget it. They will get the minimum required by law, and that's it.

 

Welcome to the world of big business.

 

^^^ What he said. Windows Phone is innovative, original, and still too flawed in the simple details. Calendar only remembers the last 2 weeks, irrespective of sync settings. IE explorer still has cumbersome navigation (swipe left/right for previous/next page? IE11 Metro has it). Bluetooth is incredibly picky. And its arguably most important app, Xbox Music is unrefined, with no cloud syncing of tracks or playlists. Basic, basic stuff that should have been sorted by now.

Android L meanwhile is copying Metro and overtaking it.

 

Buying a hardware company wasn't a bad idea, though I'm not sure why specifically Nokia was in their best interest. MS wanted a hardware vendor that catered exactly to their needs, much like Google with Motorola. For whatever stupid reason, MS decided their employees are incapable of just designing a phone from scratch themselves. But considering how many Nokia employees are being let go, it really shows how it proves my point and they really didn't need Nokia at all. Google bought Motorola mainly for patent purposes. What does Nokia have that MS couldn't acquire themselves?


Anyway, I just hope the Nokia employees who are being let go aren't Qt developers.

 

Qt devs already left the building some time ago :
http://www.slashgear.com/nokia-sells-qt-to-digia-ios-android-and-windows-8-ports-promised-09242317/

It is mostly Nokia manufacturing staff. What is happening is that MS is killing Nokia phone manufacturing anywhere else but Vietnam, and moving everything there.