Microsoft may announce major layoffs in the hardware division

There's never anything good abou layoffs, even if something good for the company comes out of it. Those guys will be out of a job. Plain and simple.

And if someone hadn't created that job for them in the first place, where would they be working? I assume somewhere else. People talk of employment in absolute terms, as if this is absolutely this person's only shot at a job. If they didn't have their current job, they would have another job somewhere else.

You make it sound like the unemployment rate in these countris is 0%. Do you enjoy losing your job, because I don't. 

Wake up, people. Nadella is going to kill Windows Phone, maybe Surface too. Brace yourself.

Hes not going to kill windows phone, because it's the core of what they do. More like merging the surface and Lumia teams, call it trimming the fat
...... And hopefully it will bring the SURFACE PHONE!

You are out of your head. I do not think Microsoft will kill the Surface Tablet line because it's the ONLY MOBILE Device That is selling WELL they have.  In fact Microsft needs to sell the 300 dollar Madrid tablet they were selling to more countries and increase their Mobile Tablet Sales. as far as Windows smart phones are concerned they will get more apps when they are updated to The Windows 10 update because when a developer writes a Universal app for any Windows 10 desktop, Laptop or Windows 10 tablet they will also run on a Window 10 smart phone. Windows 10 smart phones are the best smart phones that can work with a Windows 10 Desktop, Laptop, or Windows 10 Tablet Period because they can all run MS Uiversal apps. Nadella may do like Nokia did get rid of the factories and have Microsoft designers design the Microsoft Windows smart phones and have a Microsoft OEM manufacturers make them for Microsoft to sell to the Carriers world wide. If Microsoft Kills it's smart phones it will make it's product brand name STINK and peope will be afraid to buy Microsoft products fearing they will stop making them. That will hurt microsoft more than low sales of Windows smart phones. I predict microsoft wil sell less Microsoft models of Windows 10 smart phones and have outside Manufactures make them for Microsoft to save money in manufacturing costs.          

You can take off your tin foiled hat now.

Is it too late to bring back Ballmer? lol

Oh man. These people have kids going to school. I feel for them

It is a shame when people are made redundant. Hopefully they have the skills and opportunity to go somewhere else, and fast.
.
Thought this hasn't been announced yet and may not even be a real story!

I was thinking the same thing. What happened to the dependable companies our grandparents knew?

Those companies died because you didn't buy their products anymore....

Most of those companies are gone since promised our Grandparents things that aren't sustainable.  Sadly, whoever created idea of a pension caused more problems than they'll ever know economically.

Depends on how that pension is set up. If the money has been set into a 401k a or b once the employee retires that's it and the pension is drawn off the 401k itself. No more money is involved with said company. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android on my Kindle

They will be alright.. they are highly skilled individuals with really good resumes.. it won't be that hard for them to find a job somewhere else.. plus they probably saved enough from working at Microsoft.. good luck to all of them

I do hope they can find jobs. I hate to think of the children affected. That's what makes it a "tough choice" for Microsoft. Tough choices involve people, not a product. It's not talking about killing WP, it's talking about killing jobs.

So if I create a job for someone, a job that didn't previously exist, and then I hire someone to fill that job, and then I decide a few years later that it's just not working out the way I had hoped, and so I fire that person and eliminate the position entirely, am I killing a job? In comparison to what point in time? Had I not created that job in the first place, that person would have instead found employment elsewhere initially. Now that the job is no longer available, that person will find employment elsewhere, just as they would have had I not created that position in the first place.

They said that after Nortel folded too

They need to announce major layoffs in the Advertising department. When was the last time anyone has seen a commercial for Lumia? (U.S.) Bad decisions... "We could spend X and make a commercial for Xbox Music to get rid of this (mysterious confusion) and let people know it's on all platforms....Or we could spend 3x that amount in labor, and rebrand our software....Let's rebrand our software..."

They haven't had any new Lumias worth advertising. 

Re: tribexx,
Microsoft needs better advertising and public relations. They need to get the word out about features, usefulness, and design. I just don't think they do it well at all.

It's hard to be optimistic about Windows Phone or Surface with hardware layoffs and no word on a SP4. The reality is that to the average consumer, it looks like Windows Phone is dead. Let's be honest here. Maybe Microsoft will throw the fanboys a final bone with a new flagship, but that may be it. And if that's not going to be the case--meaning, if Nadella plans to keep Windows Phone & Surface alive--then he needs to say so... emphatically. Otherwise, he's killing the platform through omission.

The average consumer doesn't know anything about these rumors. "And if that's not going to be the case--meaning, if Nadella plans to keep Windows Phone & Surface alive--then he needs to say so... emphatically." Wrong, Nadella doesn't need to say ANYTHING to keep the whiners happy or whatever. He's repeatedly stated his commitment to the first-party hardware plans and to Windows 10 and that's all he can do. If that's not enough for you guys then you're out of luck. Even if he said loud and clear that WP isn't going anywhere, you doomsday preachers wouldn't believe him, so it would be pointless anyway.

The "whiners" are the (few) people who have actually been buying Windows Phones, so... yes, Nadella should reassure us. Also, as others have pointed out, what message does this send to developers? They're definitely paying attention to the rumors.

You are very, very mistaken if you think you even remotely represent the WP user base, sorry. No, Nadella should not reassure you, he's not your babysitter. Move on to something else or just keep using your phone or whatever but either way, just stop with this pathetic whining. It's honestly childish. If you think getting a Windows phone isn't safe anymore, then don't do so and accept that others (yes, even people buying Windows Phones) may disagree with you. And that includes developers who see Microsoft's continuous investments in the OS and universal apps and who have listened to the repeated statements and rumors of flagship phones and Nadella's internal memo reiterating on the first-party hardware plans and who are smart enough to know that lay-offs do not equal ditching the platform.

And here you go:   I am committed to our first-party devices including phones. However, we need to focus our phone efforts in the near term while driving reinvention. We are moving from a strategy to grow a standalone phone business to a strategy to grow and create a vibrant Windows ecosystem that includes our first-party device family. In the near term, we will run a more effective phone portfolio, with better products and speed to market given the recently formed Windows and Devices Group. We plan to narrow our focus to three customer segments where we can make unique contributions and where we can differentiate through the combination of our hardware and software. We’ll bring business customers the best management, security and productivity experiences they need; value phone buyers the communications services they want; and Windows fans the flagship devices they’ll love. In the longer term, Microsoft devices will spark innovation, create new categories and generate opportunity for the Windows ecosystem more broadly. Our reinvention will be centered on creating mobility of experiences across the entire device family including phones.

Yes, he does. I was just told by a Verizon rep on Monday that MS is cancelling WP, adopting android and just putting their services on it. So, if that's not true, he needs to stop the rumors fast. Because based on that info, no one on Verizon is going to buy a WP if they are being told it's being cancelled.

We all know random carrier representatives are the go-to persons when it comes to knowing Microsoft's plans, right. In the meantime, I refer you to these words from Nadella himself:   I am committed to our first-party devices including phones. However, we need to focus our phone efforts in the near term while driving reinvention. We are moving from a strategy to grow a standalone phone business to a strategy to grow and create a vibrant Windows ecosystem that includes our first-party device family. In the near term, we will run a more effective phone portfolio, with better products and speed to market given the recently formed Windows and Devices Group. We plan to narrow our focus to three customer segments where we can make unique contributions and where we can differentiate through the combination of our hardware and software. We’ll bring business customers the best management, security and productivity experiences they need; value phone buyers the communications services they want; and Windows fans the flagship devices they’ll love. In the longer term, Microsoft devices will spark innovation, create new categories and generate opportunity for the Windows ecosystem more broadly. Our reinvention will be centered on creating mobility of experiences across the entire device family including phones.

Slowly killing...

Don't think so. They're still dedicated to mobile and there's gonna be some great stuff to put Windows 10 on.

Sorry, but I agree with Mjyumping--Nadella is going to kill off Windows Phone & maybe Surface. And if he's not, then he should say so... emphatically.
I don't feel safe buying a Windows 10 Lumia at this point.

Then stop this whining BS and move on. Seriously, do yourself a favor. Just don't cry if your predictions don't come true and you missed out on that Windows 10 flagship or whatever.

He's got a right to voice his opinion you know. Why is it when some1 spks bad about MSFT ppl start bashing back. let them be - constructive critisism is good especially if MSFT reads them 

I'm not telling him not to voice his opinion but he's not doing anyone a favor with it. I don't have the slightest issues with people pointing out what's not working inside Microsoft but most of the criticism on this site isn't constructive, it's just the same kind of whining over and over again.

They need to cut back if they want other OEMs to build phones. Right now they are too much of a competitor.

Huh? They haven't released a high end phone in almost two years , OEMs had plenty of time to put out hardware.

The money is not in flagships its in the mid to low end. MS needs to have one high end, one mid and 1-3 low end phones not 15 different models with confusing number series.

Thank you.

So what they are "killing" is most likely the complexity in the Lumia portfolio - or so I hope! Let's get down to at most 5 different devices and no more "special" editions for each mobile operator. Let's have ONE major flagship phone in ALL markets. Maybe this even means we will see a Surface branded phone? I hope so! I hope that they are NOT killing the accessories part. They need an ecosystem of speakers, chargers and other good stuff. Also don't forget that they already had a hardware division with people making the Xbox, band, keyboards/mice and soon the HoloLens. I see this as consolidation/focus and ultimately (hopefully) strengthening of te effort to gain a foothold in the mobile business.

Always sad to see people lose their jobs.

Indeed

Truthfully Speaking!!!

I agree.

Is this a sign of ill health? What is the work force of apple?

So, these not so productive employees were the reason behind the higher cost of nokia hardware comparatively in the market. The most irritating was low rams and no ffc in budget devices

Something is definitely not ok !!! This is not something good enterprises often do !!

When they take over companies they do...

MS did not taker over Nokia. What this means is that MS will no longer be making phones anymore. Who knows the next 940XL will be the very last phones made by Microsoft. It goes the same for Surface as well. Do you guys still really think that Windows phones will have good future??

"What this means is that MS will no longer be making phones anymore." Except that no, it doesn't? Microsoft just built upon the Lumia brand by renaming Microsoft Connect to Lumia Voices and while that may be a minor thing, it's a move that doesn't make sense when you are planning to ditch Lumia phones. I really don't get some of you guys. You're like those crazy preachers standing in the marketplace shouting about how doomsday is "obviously" coming and that "how could you not see the obvious facts", which you're usually bending and twisting hard to accomodate your self-inflicted vision of woe. It's so pointless.

They are laying off people they aren't shutting down their hardware all together. Please read the articles, it makes for much better conversations...

Then Nadella needs to say very clearly, "We are not abandoning Windows Phone or Surface. We are committed to making them successful & profitable. They will be around a long time." That would end the speculation. But he hasn't said anything like that... and there's a reason why not.

Why should Nadella issue out random statements to please you guys? It would make sense to state his commitment clearly when he announces the lay-offs but not before to react to some Internet rumors and people preaching doomsday in comment sections. Is he supposed to answer to any occuring rumor now?

Ridiculous comment.

Uh, not only *did* Microsoft take over Nokia (that's basically summing up the entire acquisition), they're still dedicated to mobile. Good things are coming, so sit back and enjoy the ride. It's useless to keep whining, Microsoft aren't gonna listen to you anyway.

There are two things, its either MS is financially sick, or the have a lot of redundancy in the system. Either way, the action is taken to revamp the system, just like pruning a hedge. However, I want to tilt towards the belief that its due to staff redundancy.

Yes.just think about one store for millions of devices.its a great opportunity for developers.

That's America. Usa since 70's saw loosing millions of jobs for deindustrialization and delocalization in China and far east.

Devaluing, so he can eventually convince the board to kill Lumia.

Why buy nokia smartphones for 7bill than?

Nadella wasn't a part of that deal, nor was he a fan of it. He can't yet convince the board to throw away the$7 billion but the more he devalues and minimizes hardware, the better chance he has of getting rid of it. He seems to only care about cloud and other software and services that can run on his iPhone.

Keep going with that outdated "Nadella against Lumia" argument... One doesn't simply kill off something it bought for 7 billion USD.

You keep ignoring it while he slowly kills it. Your "one does not" argument is hardly compelling.

No you are the on who's in delusion. We are talking about 7 billion USD here. What this means is that Nadella has NO interest in making hardware at all and he is prepared to just waste the 7 billion away, just like that. Also, it will implies that there will be no more windows phones nor Surface made by MS going forward. Regardless, things are just not good for us as consumers.

"What this means is that Nadella has NO interest in making hardware at all" Yeah, you keep ignoring his repeated mention of "first-party hardware" in his latest letter to the company. This twisting and ignoring of facts is getting really pathetic.

Dude..if Microsoft won't manufacture Lumia then Windows Phone will hardly have anything to fight for..so your argument is invalid..

Companies often layoff workers right before they sell something off. Maybe he's going to sell it back to Nokia. Either way, it doesn't look good for Windows Phone.

From what I've read, this consolidation is probably a by-product of the newly formed "Windows and Devices Group" (notice Devices in the name, to all the nay sayers about getting rid of hardware) led by Terry Myerson.  The Surface's success is viewed at Microsoft as the result of Software development teams and Hardware development teams being integrated together in a products design, which surprisingly has not been the case in windows phone (primarily because it was third party engineers working on the hardware side).  To enable a better functioning team I think that the focus is now on fewer higher quality products with a small close knit team of hardware and software engineers working together on a products design, instead of separately like it was before.  Which is why we are seeing major layoffs in an area that functioned in completely different way and with a different purpose. My opinion, but we all can only speculate which is half the fun.

Well, he didn't. His predecessor did, and there was a very different strategy attached to that.

Tell me one merger that didn't involve layoffs at such a large scale specially when Nokia's own workforce was about 60% the size of Microsoft's existing workforce.

Most of the Microsoft Mobile workers were/are in manufacturing. My bet is that Vietnam factory (only one left) will be sold/closed. Feature phones will be canned. And as the same factory also makes low/midtier Lumias also those will be canned. Top end Lumias stay and manufacturing will stay outsourced. Well that's my optimistic bet.

Or all manufacturing is moved to China? There's no chance in hell of killing low and mid range Lumias. Those are the ones that actually sell.

Vietnam factory is enabler of low end Lumias. It's modern and salaries are much less than in China. If manufacturing of low end Lumias is outsourced then prices would go up. Or not. Just speculation :)

ridiculous comment..convincing a bunch of millionaires to waste 7 billions of THEIR $$$.. perfectly logic lol

Tax write-off, joking.

When devs hear such news every other week .. Who is gonna make good apps for such dwindling platform

Except there haven't been news about this every other week, it's just rumors for the same news ("tough choices", the write-down) coming up again and again. Seems like today this will be resolved.

Concentrating on Software and Services means that Microsoft has to get out of its failing hardware business (Windows Phone and Surface) devices, and concentrate on working with OEMs, using the NEXUS models if need be. Microsoft was foolish to get entangled with Hardware, and does not need to now with OEM delivering good W10 devices. (c.f. Dell W10 centric laptops) If OEMs cannot make Windows Phoen work, then Microsoft should not waste any further money on Lumia, as Windows Phone share continues to fall. Hard decisions, but making the right decisions can be tough sometimes.

Well, by putting all their unique selling points on other platforms they cannibalised on the sales of windows phones. Right now there isn't anything to pull a average consumer from the other platforms, plus they aren't necessarily know about Windows 10 for phones. Let alone look up any technical documentations released after WinHEC.

"as windows phone share continues to fall"
No it's not, windows phone is now on second rank in many countries and growing and Microsoft is not fool to ditch smartphone division as they're doing so much effort in it

It seems to be impossible to get US Tech "Journalists" to look beyond the US for anything other than Chinese iPhone sales

Really? merely 3% worldwide market shares and you called that growing?? The statistics has not changed at all since 2 years ago.... C'mon man.... Let's just get realistic.

Well, it strongly depends on where you look. WP has been growing in Europe. The problem is that the US and China are very big markets where WP is struggling, especially China where it is practically non-existant. WP's global marketshare would look much better if it weren't for its problems in the US and China. It may have a chance in the US, but I imagine China is pretty much lost. However, what people like to ignore when talking about marketshares is that marketshares alone don't get you money: Android may be very strong in China but Google doesn't see much money from it as China has a different tech culture with lots of smaller app stores (instead of everyone just going to Google Play or Amazon). The OS Android is strong in China, yes, but that doesn't mean Google is. My point is that there is more to success than marketshare.

WP Markteshare has been falling in Europe over the last 9 months, and here in  UK.  Granted in a couple of countries like Italy, Lumia sales were higher than pre iPhone 6 sales,  but no longer since iPhone6 launch.  Face Facts Windows Phone is failing, and there is nothing in Windows Mobile 10, that is going to chnage consumer demand. Developers still not interested in closing the Apps Gap, as Universal Platform and Android/ioS Apps Developement bridges still have not attracted a strong developer base.  Guys you need to face Facts: Windows Phone has Failed, despite how much we love it. Just like WebOS before it. 

Then I guess the Kantar WorldPanel numbers are lying? www.kantarworldpanel.com/dwl.php?sn=news_downloads&id=810 How do you even know the UAP hasn't attracted a strong developer base? Why is it that so often when facts are presented to prove that WP "has failed", it's either wrong facts or just assumptions? I'm perfectly aware it's not at all flowers and roses but I'd give Windows 10 a year before concluding that Windows on phones has failed definitely.

Lumia has around 10% where I live. More than some Android OEMs for sure. This worldwide market share thing is always misunderstood. The iPhone doesn't have a massive market share worldwide, because Apple doesn't make many of them. Yet does that ever get criticised?

Apple iPhone has about 19% worldwide market share which has improved from 15% recently. Yet people believe that Apple is dominant.
I think with new flagship devices and W10 the WP market share will improve.

Re: Chmum77,
Apple computer OS was at 3% and less for a long time. I think they are now 5%?

There are no harder decisions man..it is so so simple for Microsoft, the answer consists of few words "World wide advertising! Marketing at it's best!" In Europe Microsoft is 0 on mobile, in US they keep trying to convince the people to buy their phones but the system is so entangled there that you can't go big until you screw the carriers. I don't get it..why do they bother to sell phones without proper advertising to people who do not know what Snowden did for them or who he is. Basically that shows that most of US people are (let's put it fluffy) "disconnected" from the real word. You have to shove the advertising in their face to achieve something. Like Apple did with the iPhone. In Europe it would be a lot easier if they would create more billboards, more commercials, more availability to all countries at the same time. For example the Youtube, so easy to market on it, just place an ad when a video starts, let the "lumia" pour into my eyes when I start watching a trailer. I really had high hopes for the new CEO, I thought that he has the vision of what MS needs, but he is way off on the consumer vibe. He is too corporate, thinking too much of the cloud business.  

Where do you get the numbers of MS is zero on mobile in Europe? Au contraire! MS mobile is close to iOS and growing. Advertising is always a good plan. Everybody know Coca-cola, but they still put billions on advertising so the people still know there excist.

Microsof isn't 0 on mobile in Europe, Windows Phone has close to 10% overall market share here (with differences across countries, of course). In fact, Europe is one of Windows Phone's strongest markets.

Are you European? Because if you are you would know how wrong your comment is.

Microsoft has already managed to turn the Surface around, and is now a money maker, so there is no point in getting ridd of that division. At the moment there aren't anyone that seems to be able to fill the void if they discontinue the product either. Sure we're getting better laptops, but the Surface still reigns supreme in its market. When t comes to Lumia it's not about wether or not other OEMs can make it work, but wether or not Microsoft can. And I absolutely think they can once they have cleaned up what they purchased. History have proven that they can't leave WP in the hands of OEMs as they all focus on Android.  

Its not a Money-maker... It might be billion dollar business but doesn't make profit yet... even after selling for a huge premium... I wonder where they spend all that money...

Fact check. Surface started making profit since Q3 2014. http://www.computerworld.com/article/2875990/microsofts-surface-line-up-...

The surface s not failing. Its profitable.they are doing what I thought thought they would. Take the Nokia imaging team and head designers and put them with the surface team. Lay everybody else off. The surface team can now do the phones also.

That would be great! Surface phone is what I want!

Go buy some new Internet, it seems the one you have now has long gone the expiration date. Microsoft is making more money from his Surface line then any Android Maker other then Samsung from their Android Phones.

Recovering their losses..on win phones

Sad indeed.
We knew it was coming...

That royally sucks for those who survived the first wave. Another realignment? Even after that massive lay off, how are departments meant to function when they just managed to gel and get the creativity energy flowing. I hope there aren't many redundancies this go round.

First round was mainly administrative staff that was no longer needed. You don't need 2 marketing teams, 2 finance, 2 HR, etc. etc.  What they are doing now sounds much worse. It seems they are actually going to be laying hardware engineers off which makes me question why they bought Nokia's mobile division in the first place. It seems to me that Nadella is scared to invest more because he knows that if he cuts the mobile division now the board and shareholders will blame balmer. And that even though buying nokia was probably the only good thing balmer did, enabling MS to push great devices. They should have purchased the whole Nokia conglomerate, sold the network infrastructure part to Alcatel-Lucent and then they would have had world-wide leading maps and an awesome brand name. But of course, Nadella probably convinced the board that it was too risky. Never mind now, Nadella's doing great on the software and services side but is ignoring the hardware. Already forgetting that the OEMs got lazy with developing new devices until they made the surface. Apparently he trusts the OEMs to not become complacent again (I wouldn't and would build my own HW dominance, risky as it may be).

Alcatel-Lucent really would have had no resources to buy anything. That's why they got bought by Nokia and not the other way around.

It'd better be good!

I always thought that purchasing a hardware company was not okay as you become a direct competitor to other OEMs, but that's not cool that you buy a company and then slowly make people lose their jobs. It looks like it would be better if Nokia kept it for their selves.

They didn't buy nokia phone business for the workers. They bought it for the hardware and name

Exactly.. it's just feels sad when things like this happens then.

Nokia was going out of business faster on their own. Any former Nokia employees have essentially only been receiving a paycheck because Microsoft bought the Mobile business. Otherwise they would all have been pink slipped already. Nokia broke Nokia, not Microsoft.

No, they weren't.

Yes.

Goodbye surface goodbye lumia hello software for other platforms. R.I.P

I genuinely don't understand why people react like this. Layoffs in a division are bad for the people loosing their jobs, but it doesn't mean that the division is going to be shut down. And with the development of Windows 10 Mobile, and the growing sales of the Surface, you really think that is going to happen? Get a grip .

* losing It's not just this one action. There seems to be a sense of cloud and services for iDroid momentum at Microsoft.

"the growing sales of the Surface" What??? The sales of Surfaces cannot even match the sales of Android tablets. Not to mention iPads as well. Take a look outside. How many carrying a Surface around?? On the other hand, I'm seeing lots of iPads and Anroid tablets. Nadella is already selling their hardware dept away. No more hardware in the near future. Do you still think they will continue to make Surface??

So you're basically saying that all sale numbers that don't compare to Apple's or Samsung's etc are automatically failures? Surface has been generating revenue for Microsoft. You will never see as many Surfaces as iPads or Android tablets as that's not what they are for. Surface tablets are professional tablets that come at a price, they are not meant to be consumer mass devices. Not to mention Surface tablets serve a very, very specific niche looking to combine the full computing power of a laptop with the mobility of a tablet, while making compromises in weight and size. Honestly if you are buying a Surface to simply use on your couch or in the underground or something you are throwing out your money out the window in my opinion - however, that is precisely the kind of scenario most tablets are being bought for. This said, I regularly see Surface tablets at my university. I guess you really like to run around preaching of armageddon but I imagine you will be disappointed. Nadella made specific mention of  "first-party hardware" being integral to their Windows strategy in the leaked memo - but hey, who needs facts.

Whaaattt! How can you compare sales figures of a 1000$ (average surface pro selling price) product with the sales figures of a 250$ (average Android tablet selling price) Of course the cheaper one is gonna have more volume (and market share). Not even to mention the hundreds or even thousands of different Android tablets on the market and only a handfull of Surfaces. And don't you come up with iPad sales, they have steadily been decreasing while Surface have been steadily increasing with iPads being a lot cheaper then the Surface Pro line. We don't have sales figures on the Surface 3 yet so maybe we should all be waiting for Microsoft quarterly report, later this month, before spelling doomsday. I expect both the Surface and the Lumia brands to have grown there momentum. No reason to freak out just yet!

Surface sales are increasing whilst iPad sales are decreasing. This has been true for quite a long tine now. Also, the Surface makes a profit and sales will continue increasing. Something that will not happen for iPads!

Goodbye Nokia talent, hello MS crap.

Yes, goodbye 512 MB Ram, 4GB Storage, 854x480, no flash, no front camera devices and welcome 2015!

FYI, the 535 and 540 fixed a lot of the problems which were in the 530/630.

When will Lumia 640 XL release in India ?? Anybody Knows ??

its already available in india

It's already available in India. I think you are asking about the 4G LTE version. We still don.t have idea when it will hit the Indian shores. 

4g is still well settled in India.give it 1.5 yrs more. Tech moves very slow here. But all the time for ppl wifi the does the job when they are at home.

It seems the closer we get to 10 , the worse the news and plight gets....

Hopefully the flagships will be cancelled so I can get the iPhone 6s. Well, I'll be get it anyway and keep my 1520 as a secondary. As of right now, there's no telling the plight of wp and Lumia's.

I think it's more likely that this decision means that the next flagships are complete, in much the same way that software studios announce layoffs after project completions.

Exactly why buy Nokia's hardware division lol. Of course Mr Ballmer idea lol, I think Microsoft should concentrate on making a product that can crave people to buy it, make something that people just cannot ignore. A product that is leap ahead of it competition and is only available on windows. ​ ​ ​

Totally agree, they have that across the board hopefully continuum will help sell that idea to phones at least until apple and google copies it and advances it

Actually I think it was more Stephen Elop's idea to sell than Ballmer's idea to buy.

If you got no money, take your broke ass home

Ludacris??? :D

If you got money, gimme some of your rich ass money! Me...

Took a broke b**ch, i can make broke b**ch rich.

Microsoft must lay-off its top-executives. If a marketing personnel can't sell your product then fire the marketing person not the engineer. Microsoft has still not woke up from it's Nokia slumber. 4G is going to launch from Q4 2015 in India and still MS has no plans to cash in. They should launch 4G devices soon and tie-up with Reliance Jio for exclusive 4G handsets. MS need to keep in mind that there is no issue with engineers/developers. If they can't sell device kick the marketeers out.    

Well to be honest I agree with you.

But there are already 4G devices in the range? My 920 was 4G, my 930 is 4G.

That is the reason y I told MS to kick out the marketeers. L930 has it but nobody knows it. There all ads revolve around Office on Mobile. They need to understand that 80% of people don't use Office in day to-day life. They should target the USP of OS and handset.  Had I been from MS I would have flooded the TVC with WP ads showing lag free features, Guaranteed Updates and world class hardwares viz Zeiss Optics, Qi charging etc.

You didn't know it, but that doesn't mean nobody does. I live in a country with 4G, so that's one of the things I checked in the specs before moving from 620 to 920, and it was obviously going to be part of the 930 because that's standard now.  This can't be a fault of marketing, because I used the marketing to make my purchasing decision. If you're expecting ads to trumpet that [Phone X] has 4G, that's not how phones have been marketed (in Europe, at least) because it would have been unnecessary - maybe in the smallest of small print, but not as a major splash. Networks advertised 4G heavily when it arrived for smartphones 3-4 years ago, and then it was up to the consumer to select a 4G handset.

You're right about their Marketing people. They're hopeless. Why Nadella can't see that and broom them I don't know but it really makes me wonder about his leadership. There seems to be no real interest in Consumers except as small scale 'cloud' users. If he was serious about selling to humans he would poach a few Marketing people from Apple, broom the rest of them and get down to business.

Apple have 19% of the smartphone market world-wide, what's special about having 81% of people not buying your product?

It is inevitable Nokia had way too much manufacturing capacity for the number of devices they were selling. Even if things had stayed with Nokia they would have had to make sweeping cuts too. With the majority of manufacturing capacity for feature phones which are dying it's no surprise if this happens. The smartphone and feature phones were two divisions iirc.

Slowly slowly Microsoft kills Nokia for good. How many ex Nokia employes are there anyway? Same nokia quality? Whatever. I have't seen that in the last Microsoft devices...

Finally someone who notices it

Shedding Nokian talents, instilling MS crap.

And I think there will be no more good and powerful Lumia Pureview camera. All Nokia talents are fired. I can foresee the upcoming 940XL will just have a decent typical camera installed.
 

The Lumia 640 is of excellent quality for its price and you haven't even seen the new flagships yet.

The Surface is extremely good quality and design. Better than Samsung plastic design and better quality than iPhone glass on both sides design.

That means Microsoft didn't want the Nokia employees they just wanted the tech, name, and patents. My guess is this is a slow way of trying to merge the windows team with the windows mobile team

They did not get Nokia name or patents. Those belong to Nokia. MS has licenses from Nokia to use Nokia brand for smartphones (transitory, ending soon) and feature phones (10 year, but would not be surprised if feature phones get canned). MS has also lisence for Nokia patents.

my goodness. . .after using Lumia 610 and Lumia 925, this kinda lowers my morale. . .anyways, keeping my fingers cross for the success of windows 10 mobile. . .

Long as I get my flagship Lumia this fall/winter, I am good...suks they lost their jobs though.

What would happen if you got your flagship and the following day MS ditches wp10?

Dumbest comment on here that Microsoft would dump W10 just after release hahahaha

Indeed. Better get it because it will be the very last Lumia.... And it will be EOL very soon.

Please give your proof it will be the last Lumia. You state the fact now prove it...

Nadela has an iPhone or Windows Phone..anyone ?????

WP

I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what a Lumia device is

Obviously an iPhone. It's a rich mans device of choice. There's no escape from that.

Atm looks like an iPhone.

Serious Talk... with the point in the back of my head that MS could ditch its hardware department... Like Apple with its iPhones and Google with its Nexus Series, I want a Microsoft/Nokia Phone. And don't know if i would be able to like holding a Samsung, HTC or LG WindowsPhone. hmm...

Don't use the picture of a lumia as the thumbnail. Use an Xbox or a Surface or a Mouse or ... something!   What I'm trying to say is.. This will probably add fuel to the rumours on the end of Lumia. 

Their mice and keyboards are awesome but I agree wioth the poor choice of images.

I've been reading some comments on here and my thoughts are Microsoft need to make their own products, windows tablets was a disaster before surface and phone was non existent without Nokia. In terms of IP technology companies need to compete they need product. No longer Microsoft be a software company back in 98 when everyone wanted a pc fact is if they want windows to succeed they need to lead the way, ain't no one gonna do that for them.

With nearly the same amount of employee's as Apple and Google combined, it was a sound decision moving a much smarter, more streamlined business forward. Just hate seeing people lose jobs in the process but in this industry, it''s been happening before most there were born... Can;t wait for my next flagship WP10.

Yes. "Tough choices." Yet, it isn't his job on the chopping block. Microsoft continues to make multimillion/billion dollar purchases and then speaks about "tough choices" all in the same sentiment when prepping to terminate thousands of jobs.
...
I do not know where their end game is going. However a lot of families are about to experience the very real side of Microsoft's so called tough choices. I am aware that these "choices" are not his alone, as there is a shareholder board. But if he wants to effect the "community" then he most surely has achieved this by laying off so many in that very same "community."
...
Hopefully these are mere rumors but if true, how different is Microsoft than Google and Apple?

I haven't heard apple layoff in ten years.

They must have like a quarter of Microsoft employee, though.

We "know" what Snowden did. And while you may believe everything you hear, most do not.
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I don't find Snowden to be a mantel of anything but cowardice. The information he took was far more then the NSA. National security secrets, military assets and intelligence secrets. And where did this "hero" go? China and then to Russia. Yes, nations of tremendous prestige in human rights and civil liberties.
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He could have done many things that could have revealed the governments spying but instead ditched to socialistic regimes where the very same liberties he claimed to believe in are oppressed and/or nonexistent.
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So yeah. America knows who and what Snowden has done. Many Americans are fighting the governments overreach and abuse of power without having to flee to nations that contradict western values.

What's this got to do with anything?

You might have commented on the wrong window. Just saying it's the most off topic comment, ever.

NSA bot malfunction.

Comment of the day lol

I think Tommy Henderson has fallen victim to the bug, in the Windows Central App, that puts a reply comment in the wrong place. It's happened to me. Frustrating.

Is it possible that advances in automation put the workforce at risk of maintaining their jobs?
I don't think that the Lumia brand is being killed off, when you inherit a companies workforce large cuts are inevitable, you don't need twice the amount of people to do the same job. It's also possible that Microsoft will get another company to make their phones. Who makes the phones for apple and google? (honest question).

The only mobile platform that i used since having a smartphone. since the days of htc hd2, mod hd2 to get wmp7. Proud of what they have achieved though on a very slow phase. Feels troubling to hear rumors about MS axing WP. I hope satya recognizes The importance of heaving their hardware division to compete with other platforms.. i still believe they can turn this thing around. More presence in advertising should improve awareness of people..

All they are doing is trying to make the money back. There was virtually no profit from buying Nokia, they Los money in the long run. Now if you let go a few thousand you don't pay these people you keep the cash. Topical large corporation thinking gm does it all the time. Still feel bad to all these talented people affected by poor chooses.

Isn't Hollowlens hardware ? I mean, the idea of Microsoft ditching devices is ludicrous, it's in their dna. But, internet is always hyperbolic, imevery comment section is all or nothing, a very binary society this is.

Letting go of people DOES NOT mean letting go of the project. You guys are delusional. Microsoft is still dedicated to the mobile market. Windows 10 will definitely make a mark.
Also, hardware does not necessarily mean mobile. Stop jumping to conclusions when you can't prove they're gonna happen.

People need to understand something. This does not mean they are cancelling the surface . This probably means the head hardware engineers and imaging team will go with the surface team and everybody else gets laid off. Then they will have the surface team design phones also. Nokia phones strength has always been its cameras. ​

I don't know how is this kind of news item useful for the end user. Sure, people losing their jobs is an unfortunate situation. But MS is not going to stop making hardware, or doing their business. I think it's all about the drama, and it serves to create uncertainty and drama, and especially negative views on the company's future.

Fuck, when does Microsoft finally make a CLEAR statement on the future of windows mobile/hardware. Im not buying any flagship if it is said to be the last because you can bet on bad firmware support etc.. No more updates.

I hope the best for those people. 18,000+ job cuts is a massive number and will certainly have a burden on the people themselves, society, social, medical and economic services.

18K was only the first round.

I swear some of the people from the Windows Phone community are like the religious woman from the movie The Mist. Don't think Microsoft will kill Lumias anytime soon. Maybe they will not make 100s of models so they can let other OEMs live but they will keep making the phones. The same thing happens in the company i work for when they buy a smaller company. After a while they let some of the people go because why would they want to have 2 different marketing teams for example... 

Those cuts are already done.

Yay! More people losing their jobs so rich people can get richer. Ahh... Capitalism.

Mainly its shareholders who gain financially and shareholders are mainly pension companies, and the pensions are for the general public.

WP fans are truly the most delusional, sheep like fans on this planet.......

Please don't fire the Surface guy! I still need my Surface Phone!

Well look, weve all been EXTREMELY patient with MS - I know I have, since the Nokia takeover, I understand the delays and time it takes to get a flagship device to market and given Satya time to make his changes.  However..If I get the slightest hint they are ditching Windows Phone then im going to drop MS the same way.  I realy hope they dont as they havnt come out fighting at all, not yet, im hoping they have been busy behind closed doors scheming and making killer mobile products we all want to buy and make the competition sit up and take notice.  If they throw in the towel without a fight then I will too, they wont deserve a single penny from me or my business.

New flagships with W10 and continuation of Surface products with better software integration into the OS should amount to something good, if not awesome.

Wow, what's with all the doom and gloom? He just unified the hardware division and got rid of Elop. There's redundancy, so there are layoffs. Sucks when people lose their job, but it's part of business.

This will be great for the stock.

They seem to be slowly getting rid of their smartphone division, those flagships may be the last from Microsoft mobile

Whenever business gets "slow", The first thing large Corporations do is layoff workers.
Hardly ever hear them say lets reduce our executives salaries.
CEO's earning 10-40 Million plus stock options. Just another day at the office for most.
My biggest respect to CEO Dan Price of Gravity Payments, who not only reduced his annual salary from $1 Million but also increased his workers annual salary to $70,000 minimum.
Wish I could support Dan Price in a more tangible way because that's a CEO who really cares about his workers.

Lol @ the hysteria here. Microsoft are not getting rid of Windows Phone. They're reducing their footprint in hardware in terms of headcount, quite possibly feature phones and whatever remaining factories they have offshore. They're certainly NOT getting rid of the Surface. Windows tablets are the only tablets on the market right now projected to grow, and here in Australia I have seen a huge uptake in Surface Pro 3's. I see more Surface Pro 3's now than I see iPads in the business world. Nokia never really made great phones. The hardware was good, the cameras were good, but there werent USER FRIENDLY. iPhones could take a good photo 99% of the time, Lumia cameras would take 4/5 poor blurry photos and maybe one good one. By the time the camera warmed up the shot was gone. It was so difficult trying to take a photo of my daughter with my old 1020. The 830 - Microsofts attempt at a phone - takes MUCH better photos. The phone is much more user friendly, much faster to take photos, and while it doesn't actually take amazing still quality shots, it's superior for every day use. These are things the average consumer wants. Microsoft are on the right track with Lumia (seeing a lot more of them now) and Surface. Both are critical parts of their Windows 10 strategy, and they're not going away any time soon.

What you fail to realise and say is that Microsoft letting go of staff means the end of the world, obviously :/s

Oh beware the ide of march. Come on doomsayers, every time there is a layoff some I don't have company but listen to me I know about business but never ran one come on here and give doom and gloom predictions that never come true.

Makes sense, MSFT is preparing the way for Nokia to get back into the game in 2016. Therefore, it won't be $7B wasted, it will be reinvested in a learner- meaner partnership.

There's only 4 kinds of Microsoft news... buying a company, renaming a service, new device/feature coming someday that won't change market share, and layoffs.  

It's funny reading the comments here. Companies buy other companies, divisions, etc. all of the time. They are almost always followed withing a few years with big layoffs to cut redundancy and fluff to keep the owning company lean and profitable. I've been involved in quite a few of them and in several the one making the cuts. This is happening all over the globe through the past several lifetimes. I have been on both sides of the table, so I definitely feel for those getting the severance pacakages. I hope they land somewhere else soon.

Agree.

No other OEM can make a phone like Nokia (Or MS), please don't kill it...

Remove the managers, keep tge engineers

Good grief there's a bunch of nattering ninnies on this board. MS is still building feature phones. They have already stated before that they would eventually pull out of that business. The first 18,000 layoffs were mostly redundant divisions and manufacturing personnel for feature phones. But someone is still making these phones. If they are reducing the service workforce, then I think you can safely very that it is the portion remaining that is still making feature phones that will get axed. If they cut into the Lumia workforce, I suspect it would be minor; I.e. reducing some of the Lumia line complexity. All this other talk is absurd. Nadella knows how important mobile is for MS.

You speak sense!

Lol imagine how much money they are saving on salaries. Windows 10 is surely turning around to be a major jump from the previous. Hope with the release of the flag ships, there will be enough marketing and competitive prices and availability world wide.

Just give me my Lumia and nobody gets hurt.

Been there, done that, several times.  The tech world is tough.

So they cutting the cheap phones which they sell alot of, now they will only make mid and high end phones on plans only. No more cheap $19, $25, $29, $39, $49, $59, $79, $89, and $99 phones off contract?!

I don't think this is the death knell os windows phone, but if the speculation of layoffs are true I wish them all the best.

Advertising division must need some serious layoffs... Microsoft's advertising is worst among the three top tech companies

Frankly I have the feeling these layoffs were all somehow planned from the start with the Nokia acquisition. Microsoft had to absorb these people due to Nokia negotiations demands but in a given time frame the new owner can then decide to get rid of such human resources. It's sad but it happen all the times in big companies acquisitions...

Anyone miss Steve baldmer?

I do. He is still biggest individual owner of MS (although that does not amount to much) Lets hope he does not remain totally passive while the new guy goes all in to iPhone & Android.

If MSFT keep not giving attention to other countries about WP, more bad news will come. Just saying. (Here in Brazil, sells decreasing, btw.)

Nokia was a great company until elop went and sabotaged it for a microsoft buy out.... Microsoft has since shit all over anyone and everyone..... I blindly followed nokia for 18 years but follow this company that screws over employees, shits on their own os, support other platforms with far superior apps than on their own os and always lies to us.... Remember belfiore saying only 5" screen and above will have three row tiles and gabe saying 930/icon cant run first w10tp because of scaling bs yet many used proxy to put it on and it worked fine I could go on but the point is with there behaviour, arrogance and lay-offs I will NEVER follow this company. Spewing nokia choose microsoft..... Without elop and microsoft they had a shot. Fuck you Microsoft and if u worked for them I sincerely feel sorry you lost your jobs. Piss off nutella and bring back gates.

Nokia had cancer called Symbian. Elop did what he could. And now Nokia is in great shape. Just bought Alcatel-Lucent and will also re-enter handset market next year via low risk design & lisence strategy.

7800 jobs out. Huge write down. ""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," Nadella said. "In the near-term, we'll run a more effective and focused phone portfolio while retaining capability for long-term reinvention in mobility." As always no specifics. But I read this as flagships-only and everything else goes.

Microsoft bussines. Buying companies with workers and then them lay off))))