Microsoft cuts more jobs in smartphones as focus narrows

Microsoft announced plans to cut another 1,850 jobs at its smartphone business, as it narrows the focus to the enterprise market. After earlier agreeing to sell its feature phone business, the company is now focusing its phone efforts on where it has "differentiation  — with enterprises that value security, manageability and our Continuum capability, and consumers who value the same," said CEO Staya Nadella. 

The restructuring and writedown of assets will lead to charges of USD 950 million in its latest quarter, including around USD 200 million for severance payments. Microsoft said up to 1,350 jobs will go at its company Microsoft Mobile in Finland and another 500 jobs elsewhere in the world. The Microsoft sales subsidiary in Espoo, Finland will not be affected. 

Most of the restructuring should be completed by the end of the calendar year, and the process fully completed by July 2017, the end of the company's next fiscal year. More details on the plans will be provided at its next quarterly earnings report on 19 July. 

According to the latest figures from Gartner, Windows smartphones had a worldwide market share of just 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2016, equal to around 2.4 million units. The share was down from 2.5 percent in the same period of 2015.