Microsoft to axe 1,850 jobs as phone venture weighs

Microsoft has unveiled fresh plans to cut up to 1,850 jobs and book a hefty writedown as it attempts to salvage its rocky entrance into the smartphone market.

Microsoft is shedding jobs at its smartphone business. Picture: Michel Euler/AP

The US software giant acquired Nokia’s phone business in 2014 for some $7.3 billion (£5bn) as it looked to take on the might of Apple and Samsung. But by last summer it had slashed the value of that business severely and cut thousands of posts.

The bulk of the jobs cuts announced yesterday – up to 1,350 positions – are at Microsoft Mobile Oy in Finland. There will also be up to 500 additional jobs trimmed worldwide.

Microsoft had just over 117,000 employees globally at the end of its last financial year. It hopes to complete most of the “streamlining” by year’s end.

The company, under former boss Steve Ballmer, attempted to leverage its software know-how to take on its high-tech rivals.