According to a local-language report in Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, Microsoft is gearing up for around 1,000 layoffs in Finland. Microsoft acquired around 4,700 employees in the country when it purchased substantial assets from Nokia, a deal that closed in April.
We reached out but Microsoft declined to comment.
At work here is the fact that Microsoft is widely expected to be preparing to cut a substantial number of jobs. Its headcount has expanded from 57,000 in 2004, to more than 99,000 in 2013. The purchase of Nokia swelled that figure to just over 127,000. Given that quick growth, Microsoft likely wants to trim costs.
According to Dina Bass, Microsoft will announce layoffs as soon as this week. They could be its largest ever, topping a prior record of 5,800 cuts.
Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella released a lengthy treatise on his company’s future direction, noting a shift in strategy away from the concept of ‘devices and services,’ to a focus on ‘productivity and platforms.’ First-party hardware remains part of that vision, so the Nokia hardware acquisition still fits inside of the company’s larger goals.
Some of Microsoft’s new employees in Finland, however, likely do not.
IMAGE BY FLICKR USER IAGO LAZ UNDER CC BY 2.0 LICENSE (IMAGE HAS BEEN MODIFIED
 
