Microsoft To Pay $200 Million in Severance To ‘Streamline’ Smartphone Business

Microsoft will spend $200 million in severance payments to “streamline” its smartphone hardware business and eliminate up to 1,850 jobs, the company said in a Wednesday announcement. Up to 1,350 of the jobs cut will be at Microsoft Mobile Oy in Finland, plus up to 500 additional jobs globally, it said. “We are focusing our phone efforts where we have differentiation -- with enterprises that value security, manageability and our Continuum capability, and consumers who value the same,” CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement. “We will continue to innovate across devices and on our cloud services across all mobile platforms.” The latest action comes a week after Microsoft said it’s selling its feature phone business to Hon Hai/Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile and HMD global Oy for $350 million, which IHS said “highlights Microsoft’s continued failure in mobile” (see 1605180033).