Microsoft Fires Another 2,100 Workers Worldwide

Microsoft (MSFT) confirmed that it fired another 2,100 employees in the second stage of an overall 18,000-worker layoff the vendor initiated in July when it cut some 13,000 staffers from its payroll.

The layoffs, effective Sept. 18, included 747 workers from Microsoft’s home state of Washington, adding to the 1,351 jobs the vendor eliminated locally in its first round of layoffs. So far, about 5 percent of the 43,351 workers based in the local area have lost their jobs, according to the Seattle Times.

The remaining job cuts came from a variety of other Microsoft locations worldwide, a company spokesperson told ZDNet, while declining to specify which internal teams incurred the losses.

In July, Microsoft laid off some 13,000 workers, 12,500 of which were former Nokia (NOK) staffers whose jobs duplicated those of existing Microsoft workers. About 30,000 Nokia employees were involved in Microsoft’s acquisition of the Finnish handset maker.

Microsoft boss Satya Nadella said at the time the overhaul would clear the decks for Microsoft to fully enact his mobile-first, cloud-first directive and result in “more productive, impactful teams.”

CNet reported that Microsoft still intends to cut back by as much as 20 percent of its “contingent” or part-time employees as part of its overall restructuring.

With this round of 2,100 layoffs and the prior 13,000 cuts, Microsoft still has at least 2,900 workers left to fire by July 2015 to get to the 18,000 number. The vendor has said the layoffs will continue to be staged.

The firings, Microsoft’s largest in its 39-year history, are far deeper than what most observers expected and nearly three times the company’s previous highwater mark for layoffs of 5,800 in 2009 at the global recession’s beginning. Microsoft said it will incur a $1.1 billion to $1.6 billion charge over the next year for severance pay and other costs associated with the layoffs.