Microsoft's phone business sees a 54% decline, results in 1000 more layoffs

After laying off 7800 people solely from its phone division, in addition to 18,000 layoffs after Nokia acquisition, Microsoft is readying to give the pink slip to 1000 more employees.

The fresh round of layoffs are a result of the recent Q3 2015 earnings which revealed a 54% decline in Microsoft's phone business due to its "updated strategy." You can read more about this strategy, its follies here.

According to Microsoft, the latest layoffs are not centered around the phone business but other departments spanning various regions. Microsoft is blindly sinking money into its Windows Phone/Lumia portfolio of devices. With negligible market share in the smartphone space, things aren't going to change anytime soon.

Once a promising platform, Windows Phone is now almost defunct. There is very little to no developer interest in the platform and all you see are first party apps from Microsoft, which alone aren't enough to keep it alive. Moreover, there is no interest from smartphone manufacturers. With the increasing competition in the space where new players are disrupting the field with bottom line pricing, Windows Phone is not competitive anymore.

Even with the limited release of new devices, the Lumia series is not working well. Lumia 540, Lumia 640, Lumia 640 XL barely made a dent in the overall smartphone sales figures, resulting in the loss of revenue mentioned earlier.

I'll say it again, Microsoft should give-up on its Windows Phone ambitions before it does further damage.

Via: Windows Central

Source: ZDNet