Rumours grow that Microsoft is sharpening its axe

According to sources the vendor is preparing to make its biggest round of job cuts in five years

In the same week as its WPC global partner showcase, Microsoft is gearing up to cull thousands of jobs, according to a report on Bloomberg today.

The cuts are believed to be centered around various divisions, including the Nokia business and divisions of Microsoft that overlap, as well as marketing and engineering. It is also believed the cuts will hit the vendor’s Xbox division.

Microsoft currently employs an eye-watering 127,000+ people, and chief executive Satya Nadella made clear changes were afoot in a company-wide email that was made public last week.

In it he claimed “nothing was off the table” and explained how he wanted to improve efficiency across the company.

He revealed he would “use the month of July to have a dialogue about this bold ambition and our core focus”.

In separate news, further rumours were doing the rounds that the software giant was planning to re-introduce the Start button on its next iteration of Windows – Windows 9.

First believed to be scheduled for inclusion in the Windows 8 update – Windows 8.1 – it is now widely believed that the vendor will concentrate on re-establishing the missing features in Windows 9 instead.