There is must frustration abounding in Microsoft's hallways after the company announced that 18,000 people would be losing their job in the coming months. But CEO Satya Nadella and other anlaysts observing the company believe the cuts are about productivity and streamlining as much as it is a cost-savings move.
The sentiment comes after Nadella made the announcement of the job cuts, but he was also clear that the company was going to be moving into new directions and while a number of jobs seen as obsolete are to be let go, there will be new positions opening up.
Observers and analysts apparently agree that Microsoft must change the direction it is currently heading and with new CEO Nadella unafraid of making tough moves and talking openly about those decisions, the company could be on the right heading.
Overall, tech analysts and media sites have pointed to Nadella's continued push for increased productivity and innovation. The CEO has regularly discussed such notions, especially when looking at how Microsoft is going to retake the edge that made it one of the top tech companies on the planet.
"To my mind, Satya Nadella's [WPC] keynote was the most definitive and clear vision and gameplan commitment coming out of any top IT company CEO in a long time," said analyst Anurag. "He has recognized that there is very little difference between a consumer and a professional, that today's consumer is living in a collaborative economy, that individual productivity impacts professional group productivity, and therefore he has laid down the gauntlet of re-designing productivity in a collaborative, multi-device, post-PC world."
Most analysts believe that despite the immediate frustration thousands of workers will have after announcing the largest job cut in company history, there is also a sense that for the long-term, if the company wants to continue to bolster productivity and move into new arenas, this was needed.
The CEO, in a letter to employees that has been published by the tech company, said its "work toward synergies and strategic alignment on Nokia Devices and Services is expected to account for about 12,500 jobs, comprising both professional and factory workers. We are moving now to start reducing the first 13,000 positions, and the vast majority of employees whose jobs will be eliminated will be notified over the next six months."
