MICROSOFT DOES THE UNTHINKABLE UNDER THE LIBERAL POTUS BHO REGIME OF RUNNING THE LEGACY OF SMOKE AND MIRRORS THAT THE ECONOMY IS WELL TO DO–BUT NOT SO SINCE MS TO LAYOFF 18,000

Microsoft confirmed it will cut up to 18,000 jobs over the next year, part of the tech titan's efforts to streamline its business under new CEO Satya Nadella.

In a statement released Thursday, Microsoft says about 12,500 of the professional and factory positions will be cut as part of its $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia's handset business.

"My promise to you is that we will go through this process in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible," said Nadella in a memo to employees.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/07/17/microsoft-job-cuts/12772901/

Some two-thirds of the cuts — three times the size of Microsoft's largest previous layoff — come from Nokia. Later Thursday, Microsoft said it was shutting down Xbox Entertainment Studios, a division that helped create original entertainment programming for the Xbox. Overall, Microsoft employs 125,000.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2014/07/17/microsoft-cuts-mean-troubled-times-for-nokia-satya-nadella/12778341/