Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced plans to shut down its Skype HQ in London, revealing that hundreds of employees in London will lose their jobs.
The shutting down is part of a previous announcement made by the company in July, revealing Microsoft’s plans to lay off about 2850 employees globally. The closure of the Skype offices in London will be the first of the layoffs where 220 people are expected to lose their jobs. There are also reports that some employees from the company’s headquarters in Redmond have been laid off.
“A Microsoft spokesperson with whom I spoke today characterized the London cuts as a consolidation of some engineering positions that affected both Skype and Yammer,” stated ZDNet writer, Mary Jo Foley.
The Microsoft spokesperson revealed that the closure of the offices is part of plans to shift from London to Paddington. Microsoft also claims that it decided to lay off some of the employees so that it can unify some engineering positions that were seen as potential risks to various financial roles on a global scale. A report from the company also reveals that those who will lose their jobs will go through a consultation process. This is part of the company’s plan to get them placement somewhere else.
Microsoft will therefore take care of the affected employees rather than leaving them stranded and jobless. The London offices are iconic to the firm because that is where Skype was founded. The announcement also comes at a time when Britain has been threatening to exit the European Union. As for Microsoft’s decision to let go of its employees, sources claim that the decision is attributed to the company’s struggling smartphone business.
Microsoft stock closed the latest trading session at $57.25 per share, a 0.10% rise from the value of the stock in the previous trading session. The trading volume of the stock for the day was 44.61 million shares.