Summary: Microsoft officially announces yet another massive round of layoffs, but it spins/denies the cause and misleads about the effects

"It’s a criminal gang bent on stifling competition any way it can," wrote Robert Pogson about Microsoft, which has caused layoffs in many companies over the years (many of these companies went completely out of business). "In this case it was “Embrace, Extend, Extinguish” to control Nokia rather than letting Nokia go with */Linux."

Pogson's comments are correct and they help highlight the reason why Microsoft layoffs are always good news. They help secure the jobs of many outside of Microsoft -- jobs that actually are ethical and involve workers who obey the law. Microsoft has a long history of using criminal activity to drive companies out of business (layoffs). Now it does it to a nation (Finland) because of Nokia. Whenever considering why Microsoft is bullying Linux and Android (not just with patents and FUD but also with moles) think about Microsoft layoffs and what they really mean. It's aggression from a cornered bully. Ethics have been thrown out the door.

Microsoft calls the latest layoffs "Restructuring". Funny that "Restructuring" can involve nearly 8,000 people without a job... that instantaneously redefines the word Restructuring".

Well, Microsoft is still extorting Linux using patents because it worries about the present and future that is Windows-free, not free Windows. According to media that spoke to manufacturers, Vista 10 won't improve computer sales (i.e. Vista 10 will fail) and Pogson decided that "GNU/Linux works fine for them." Yes, therein lies Microsoft's biggest headache. It's not Apple that is hurting Microsoft but Linux. The developers have moved away from Windows and Microsoft now virtually begs them to come back. Well, the boat has sailed away and it ain't coming back...

"Elop the mole was allegedly (Microsoft's narrative) forced out after he had destroyed Nokia (Nokia became a Microsoft-centric patent troll) and pocketed a massive bonus from Microsoft for it."Almost all of our readers must have heard by now about additional Microsoft layoffs, even if Microsoft manipulated the media into belittling the impact and distorting the facts. "Finding any good news in this announcement is a very difficult task," wrote Adam Hartung, but some people really did try.

I heard about this from an insider a while ago, but it wasn't anything official until Wednesday. The latest big rounds of layoffs were mentioned in much of the corporate media. It's nearly another 10% of the company that's being eliminated. "One year after announcing a massive round of job cuts impacting 18,000 employees," wrote USA Today, "Microsoft is wielding the ax again."

"In a statement released Wednesday, Microsoft said it will slash up to 7,800 additional jobs. Most of the cuts are connected to the company's phone business."

Well, that's what Microsoft says. The latest (not last) time it announced nearly 20,000 layoffs it misled the media by trying to paint it as a 'Nokia thing', as it had done before (Microsoft is always trying to downplay the severity of its layoffs by diverting attention).

Elop the mole was allegedly (Microsoft's narrative) forced out after he had destroyed Nokia (Nokia became a Microsoft-centric patent troll) and pocketed a massive bonus from Microsoft for it.

Microsoft boosters attempt to distract from the layoffs over at IDG and other networks, putting a positive spin on it. They're not alone because they have already misled others (non boosters) into repetition of this spin. We need to counter it.

So basically, another huge proportion of Microsoft staff is to be laid off. That's the real news. Microsoft spin says it's "mobile" layoffs; this is mostly untrue, but they try to belittle the impact, as they always do. Here is how Gizmodo put it:

Near the end of his 14-year-long run, Microsoft’s head honcho, Steve Ballmer, did a pretty bad, not-so-great thing and bought Nokia’s phone business. We know this because Microsoft just admitted it by writing off that entire $7 billion purchase and laying off 7,800 people, most of whom work directly on Microsoft phones.

We have seen one journalist claiming to be trying to find good news in this whole Microsoft layoffs thing. Why? A spin campaign surely has begun in the media, probably well coordinated by Microsoft's unethical (peripheral) PR agencies. They try to sweeten layoffs, using slogans/motto like "lean". This is marketing nonsense. Staff of Microsoft is being shuffled and has moved into smaller/shared offices (based on our sources). This has been going on for a while now. Microsoft layoffs are not much to do with Nokia as people from inside the company reveal the layoffs to be far more wide-reaching. Microsoft doesn't want to publicly speak about this.

The Nadella transition is more of a preparation for demise. The demise of Windows will result in many Microsoft operations (Exchange, 'security', probably Office too) coming to complete shutdown or gradual demise. Microsoft is understands that, so it is so unbelievably desperate to keep Windows (or Vista 10) a common carrier. Microsoft is willing to even lie repeatedly about Vista 10's cost, about Windows' value, etc. we gave many examples as even Microsoft itself later refutes its own lies (once challenged).

If an article you see about Microsoft layoffs says "Nokia", "writeoff" (AOL is framing layoffs as “Writedown”), or "Nadella", then you are almost definitely reading shallow spin, or something more like PR or 'damage control'. We can still vividly remember all the Novell spin that management/PR was coming up with every time Novell announced shrinkage. ⬆