Just moments ago, the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella has revealed that the company is planning to cut up to 18,000 positions by next year. A majority of those positions (around 12,500) will be involving former staff from the Nokia Devices and Services division that the company acquired last year as Microsoft is looking into further integrate the division as its own.
But apart for that news, the company has also revealed that it will be shifting the fairly young Nokia X portfolio to the Lumia Windows Phone family. In other words, Microsoft has killed off the Nokia X series.
According to the e-mail that the company’s Executive Vice President, Stephen Elop has sent to Microsoft Devices Group employees right after Nadella’s announcement, it turns out that Microsoft is planning to increase its effort in the low cost segment which is apparently the fastest growing segment in the market. With that, the company will be coming out with more lower-cost Lumia devices by using select future Nokia X designs and products.
Elop added that this shift will happen immediately although Microsoft will continue to sell and support existing Nokia X devices. All in all, this is an abrupt end to the Nokia X series which was originally launched at MWC 2014 five months ago and has just received its successor in the form of Nokia X2 last month.
Additionally, we think that the rumoured Android-based Lumia devices might not happen after all…
