Microsoft set for round of 700 layoffs this week

In Microsoft's annual report last June it was announced that 2850 of the company's roughly 113,000 employees would be laid off. According to sources of Business Insider, it is said that 700 of previously announced 2850 layoffs layoffs will be conducted on January 26. That is also the date that the Redmond company is set to announce its quarterly earnings.

Under CEO Sandy Nadella's stewardship, there have already been several rounds of layoffs over the last few years. Most recently, it was Microsoft's troubled Mobile division that was targeted. This time, however, sources say that these layoffs are aimed not to reduce costs but to refresh the talent pool. As such, the positions being cut are not in any particular division, but instead are a smattering of positions throughout the company's office and business units around the world, including marketing, engineering, and finance.