Microsoft plans to lay off 2,850 people in next year, company's annual report shows

SEATTLE (AP) — Microsoft plans to lay off 2,850 people before the end of the company's fiscal year in June 2017.


The Seattle Times reports (http://goo.gl/eZ6Ly8 ) the disclosure came in the company's annual report, filed with regulators Thursday.

A Microsoft spokeswoman says the cuts would primarily affect people in smartphone hardware roles and their sales teams. She declined to say where those employees are located.

Officials say the majority of people being laid off have been notified.

These cuts follow Microsoft's May announcement that the company would lay off 1,850 people and take a $950 million restructuring charge as a result of its decision to scrap much of the phone hardware business it bought from Nokia in 2014.

As of the end of June, the company said it employed 114,000 people with about 44,400 in Washington state.