Microsoft lays off 2,850 more people in continued retreat from phones

Microsoft is getting rid of another 2,850 workers, continuing a turn away from its failed acquisition of Nokia's mobile phone business in 2014, which cost it over $7.2 billion plus later restructuring charges.

The cuts, announced in the company's latest annual report, are on top of 1,850 layoffs disclosed in May, Re/code reported. Roughly 900 people in the new group have already been notified.

With the latest job losses, Microsoft is believed to have nearly eliminated any trace of its Nokia takeover, which was intended to give the company a better chance in the smartphone market. While it still sells phones, these have taken a back seat to developing apps for iOS and Android, and of course its core businesses like Windows, Office, Xbox, and the cloud.

The Nokia takeover was one of Microsoft's last major initiatives under former CEO Steve Ballmer. The deal was closed under his successor, Satya Nadella, but Nadella quickly changed strategies, preferring the aforementioned multi-platform approach — happy to support other companies' hardware so long as people are still using Microsoft products.

Nokia was once the global leader in phone sales, but was slow to adapt to the changes begun with Apple's iPhone in 2007. By the time it was collaborating with Microsoft on Windows phones in 2011, iOS and Android devices were already firmly in control of the market.