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from the perhaps-they-should-have-asked-Cortana dept.
The job cuts were revealed in paperwork filed on Thursday with US financial watchdog the SEC. The doomed staff will leave the business by the end of next June. They all work in Microsoft's sales teams and its Windows Phone hardware division. [...] We understand 900 people in the global sales unit have already learned of their fate.
As for the latest redundancies, here's the relevant sections of Microsoft's annual 10-K report to the SEC:
In addition to the elimination of 1,850 positions that were announced in May 2016, approximately 2,850 roles globally will be reduced during the year as an extension of the earlier plan, and these actions are expected to be completed by the end of fiscal year 2017.
As of June 30, 2016, we employed approximately 114,000 people on a full-time basis, 63,000 in the U.S. and 51,000 internationally. Of the total employed people, 38,000 were in operations, including manufacturing, distribution, product support, and consulting services; 37,000 in product research and development; 29,000 in sales and marketing; and 10,000 in general and administration.
While the layoffs affect just 2.5 per cent of Microsoft's workforce, they are very precise and telling cuts: Windows-powered mobiles managed to seize just three per cent of the global smartphone market, and now Redmond is dismantling that failed operation.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Saturday July 30 2016, @06:24AM
Windows CE...
Gee, I had just bought a HMI on one of Saelig's clearance sales, hoping to use it with my Arduino-compatibles as part of a SCADA system for my van.
When I powered the thing up, first thing it does is give me the Microsoft logo. Windows CE.
Sure, I know I can replace the startup flash screen, but the first thing that comes to mind is what do I do if the thing suddenly starts demanding I connect it to the net to download a new OS? Can I really trust this thing if I am embedding it into something else? Will it work even 10 years from now ( the van is already over 20 years old, and I expect it to last me another 20. No kidding. I got 40 years from my Toyota Corolla, and its nowhere near as rugged as this old Ford E-350 ).
The Toyota still runs fine... Everything in it is worn out though, and my needs have changed since I got it. When I got it - I needed inexpensive transportation to get me to and from work, which it did every day for over 40 years. Being I am no longer corporately employed, I now need something that will haul me - and my stuff - as I have my own tools and equipment now, and if someone engages me to do something for them, I will usually have everything I need to do it in the van.
My previous experiences with Microsoft is constantly having to patch it and trust third parties to fix its security holes, as well as that constant lingering threat that if I do not obey, something is going to time out and I will be left with a brick because something else must authorize it to run.
Well, I'll keep the thing for some corporate-type show&tell, as I know the corporate types are impressed by stuff like this... but I had to re-order the HMI panel that I am programming for my van. I am hoping the "DELTA" I am getting does not have the Microsoft in it. When I put that much of my personal time into building something, I have all intentions of doing it once, doing it right, and having it work until I decommission it.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]