Microsoft (MSFT) Said Planning Large Workforce Reduction Soon

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is trading nearly flat Tuesday following reports that the software giant might be close to announcing its biggest round of job cuts ever.

Bloomberg sees the cuts, which could top the 5,800 cuts made in 2009, coming as Microsoft moves to slim down and integrate Nokia's handset unit into it's corporate plans.

Reductions might be announced this week and will be focused in areas where Microsoft and Nokia overlap, such as marketing and engineering.

Last week, company CEO Satya Nadella sent a memo to employees that emphasized growth in mobile, productivity software, and cloud computing. He also noted that Microsoft would need to become more focused and efficient.

Microsoft last reported 127,014 employees, which includes 30,000 added from the Nokia deal.

Shares of Microsoft are up about 0.1 percent.

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