Microsoft to lay off 9000 employees

YEREVAN, February 26. / ARKA /. Microsoft is set to shut down its Nokia mobile phone factories in Beijing and Dongguan by the end of the first quarter of the yea, Novosti-Armenia reported citing RIA Novosti. 

The closures could lead to the company laying off about 9,000 employees, according to a Beijing Youth Daily report which said Microsoft is switching its phone manufacturing to Hanoi, Vietnam.

The move is part of the company's plans to cut 18,000 jobs worldwide, with facilities set for closure connected to Nokia's mobile phone manufacturing operation, the report said.

Microsoft announced in July last year that it will adjust its mobile phone business to adapt to the latest developments in cloud computing. The company then announced a plan on Dec. 17 to shut down its factories in Beijing and Dongguan and shift its phone manufacturing to Hanoi.

Microsoft took over Nokia's phone business in a US$7.2 billion deal last April, the world's largest phone business acquisition deal. Following the deal, Microsoft announced last July that it was cutting 18,000 jobs, or about 14% of its full-time workforce. It is the largest layoff in the company's history and 12,500 of these jobs are related to Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's mobile phone business. The worldwide layoffs are set to be completed by June.

Microsoft's restructuring plan reflects dramatic shifts in the global mobile phone industry, given the short product life-cycle and high product turnover rate in recent years. The advent of the smartphone era has also seen a number Chinese phone makers produce a diverse range of quality smartphones in addition to global brands like Apple and Samsung.-0-