Stephen Elop explains how recent job cuts will affect Microsoft's handset division

Microsoft Device Grouping leader Stephen Elop wrote his own email about how the company's announced plan to cut eighteen,000 workers will affect his division, stating that it will exist "specially focused on making the marketplace for Windows Phone" by targeting the budget priced market..

In his email, Elop explained how the role of phones at Microsoft will be different than how information technology was handled at Nokia, which he led as its CEO earlier returning to Microsoft:

Whereas the hardware business of phones inside Nokia was an terminate unto itself, inside Microsoft all our devices are intended to embody the finest of Microsoft'due south digital work and digital life experiences, while accruing value to Microsoft'south overall strategy. Our device strategy must reflect Microsoft's strategy and must be accomplished inside an appropriate fiscal envelope.

Elop confirmed that Microsoft plans to target the lower end of the smartphone market for futurity products in the near term, stating:

In improver to the portfolio already planned, nosotros plan to evangelize additional lower-cost Lumia devices by shifting select time to come Nokia X designs and products to Windows Phone devices. We expect to make this shift immediately while continuing to sell and support existing Nokia X products.

Microsoft won't ignore the higher terminate smartphone market, with Elop stating that the company volition release "great quantum products in alignment with major milestones alee from both the Windows team and the Applications and Services Group."

Elop stated that the Smart Devices and Mobile Phones business organisation units at Microsoft volition be merged into one unit, calculation, "This team will exist responsible for the success of our Lumia products, the transition of select future Nokia X products to Lumia and for the ongoing performance of the offset phone business."

In terms of Microsoft'south phone applied science efforts, Elop indicated that future high end Lumia devices volition continue to exist adult in Salo, Finland, while the budget priced phones will be developed in Tampere, Finland. Elop confined that the company volition "ramp downwards engineering work in Oulu", which helped to develop software for Nokia'south Asha feature phone line.

Elop added:

While we program to reduce the technology in Beijing and San Diego, both sites volition keep to have supporting roles, including affordable devices in Beijing and supporting specific US requirements in San Diego. Espoo and Lund are planned to continue to be focused on application software development. Nosotros programme to right-size our manufacturing operations to align to the new strategy and accept advantage of integration opportunities. We wait to focus telephone production mainly in Hanoi, with some production to continue in Beijing and Dongguan. We plan to shift other Microsoft manufacturing and repair operations to Manaus and Reynosa respectively, and first a phased get out from Komaron, Hungary.

In terms of Microsoft'due south other hardware device teams that are developing the Surface tablets, the Xbox consoles, and the Perceptive Pixel large touchscreen devices, Elop stated there will only be a "limited modify" for those groups due to changes that accept already been made earlier in the year.

What do you think of Elop's announced plans to brand the division a smaller team?

Source: Microsoft

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