As part of Microsoft’s global year-long blueprint of downsizing the mobile unit it acquired from Nokia almost 2 years ago, 34 of Microsoft’s 40 employees in Nigeria have been let go, Punch reports.
Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, had announced plans earlier in the year to let go of 18,000 employees globally, including about 12,500 associated with Nokia devices:
We are moving from a strategy to grow a standalone phone business to a strategy to grow and create a vibrant Windows ecosystem, including our first-party device family. In the near-term, we’ll run a more effective and focused phone portfolio, while retaining capability for long-term reinvention in mobility.
Microsoft was committed to our first-party devices, including phones, but needed to focus its phone efforts in the near term.
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Microsoft plans to write off $7.6 billion from the acquisition of Nokia. The company paid $7.2 billion for the Nokia mobile division in 2014.
Furthermore, Nadella reveals that the company will not be killing the Lumia smartphone line, with promises of a flagship release, later in the year, which will run the new Windows 10 OS.
NEW REPORT: Nigerian startups raised $28.35m in Q2 2020; only about 4.5% of that came from local investors. Find out more in the full report.
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