Microsoft will cut upwards of 3,000 jobs as part of a shake-up of its sales staff. According to CNBC, most of the cuts, which total under 10 percent of Microsoft's sales staff, will occur outside of the U.S.
In a statement to CNBC, a Microsoft spokesperson said:
Microsoft is implementing changes to better serve our customers and partners. Today, we are taking steps to notify some employees that their jobs are under consideration or that their positions will be eliminated. Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis. This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time-to-time, re-deployment in others.
Reports first surfaced last week of Microsoft's intention to refocus its sales and marketing staff with an emphasis on its cloud services. Shortly after, rumors began to circulate that the company was prepared to cut potentially thousands of jobs, though the exact number remained in the dark until now.
On July 3, Microsoft first began informing employees of its reorganization plans, though memos circulated at the time made no mention of layoffs. Instead, Microsoft explained its plans to reorganize its sales efforts on two main areas: large enterprise customers and small and medium businesses. Though the memo didn't emphasize the cloud, reports suggest Microsoft is looking to bolster its sales efforts in the space in order to better combat Amazon and Google. Given the increasingly large part Microsoft's cloud services are playing in its growth recently, it's not hard to see why the company might want to place more focus there.
