Microsoft Layoffs: Who Goes Besides Nokia Employees?

Microsoft (MSFT) fired some 18,000 workers last week, with Nokia employees making up about 70 percent or 12,500 of the total layoffs. But what about the remaining 5,500 non-Nokia employees? Who’s most likely to get a pink slip in the next few months?

So far, all we concretely know is that at least 1,351 of the workers let go will come from the local Seattle area, or about 3 percent of the approximately 43,000 employees Microsoft employs at or near its headquarters. The Puget Sound economy should be able to withstand the hit, according to Paul Turek, a Washington Employment Security Department economist, quoted in a Seattle Times report, even though the layoff is “likely to have some short-term impact on the area.”

The chatter on Microsoft’s job cuts is they’ll touch nearly every group in the company. Here’s a quick rundown of where the job reductions could hit the hardest:

OS Group. Microsoft executive vice president Terry Myerson’s unit reportedly is in line for substantial structural changes away from its current traditional format of program management, product development and testing. According to a ZDNet report, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella’s modernization move now will extend beyond the Cloud & Enterprise unit to a full OS group overhaul, which means a disproportionate number of layoffs may come from that group.

Testers. A hefty number of layoffs are expected to come from software testers, whose duties are expected to be assumed by program managers and development engineers.

Operations. Sales, marketing and service personnel (SMSG) are likely to get axed as Microsoft moves to streamline its headquarter’s operations. In an email to Microsoft employees, chief operating officer (COO) Kevin Turner told staffers that the goal is to “reduce our reliance on contingent staff augmentation by over 20 percent year-over-year.” ZDNet reported that Microsoft will fold field sales and marketing into a SMSG realignment.

Xbox. Microsoft is closing its Xbox Entertainment Studios, only three months after detailing plans for original TV content for the Xbox Live service. Studios employs about 160 people in three different locations and it’s unclear how many will be let go. The Seattle Times reported that Studio execs Nancy Tellem and Jordan Levin and a few others will remain to work on a “Halo” TV series and a documentary series. And, the unit still will provide sports content on Xbox, according to a memo from Phil Spencer, Xbox and Microsoft Studios boss, the report said.

The insider Mini-Microsoft blog, which weighed in on the cuts when Microsoft first announced the action, hasn’t had anything to say since on who and what is likely to get laid off.

The blog, rumored to be written by a long-standing Microsoft employee, urged quick action to get the layoffs over with and done. “Cut once, cut quickly, cut deeply,” the blogger wrote.

The last time Microsoft fired workers in 2009, “it was implemented so poorly, with constant worries and concerns and doubts about engaging in new ideas due to expectations those would be the easiest to trim during ongoing cut-backs,” the Microsoft blogger wrote. “When was it over? When was the ‘all clear’ signal given? So if this truly drags on for a year: we need a new leader. This needs to be wrapped up by the end of July. 2014.”