Microsoft prepares to cut 9,000 employees

Microsoft plans to cut about 9,000 jobs, in what would be the second major wave of layoffs this year, aimed at containing the company's costs. This is reported by Bloomberg, which points out that this is - according to a company spokesperson - less than 4 per cent of the company's total workforce.

"We continue to implement the organisational changes necessary to better position the company and teams for success in a dynamic market," the spokesperson quoted by Bloomberg as saying. The layoffs follow a previous round of cuts in May, which affected about 6,000 employees.