What is Microsoft up to? After this rambling memo, even its employees don't know!

Software giant Microsoft announced that it is going to cut 18,000 jobs by 2015-about 14% of the company's 125,000 employees, by far the largest amount of layoffs in the history of the company.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Most of these layoffs-12,500-will come from devices and services from Nokia, which Microsoft recently purchased. Microsoft is also cutting 5,500 jobs from other parts of the company, apparently to focus on improving cloud productivity and software.

You can be a light in the darkness with "prayer and action."

One would assume that layoffs such as this would be handled tactfully, but that is not the case. Instead, employees across the company received an inarticulate, 1,000 word plus emailed memo, rambling on about why the company was firing so many, and how they would decide who to keep.

"Hello there," the memo began before rambling on for some lengths about future Microsoft projects before finally getting to the crux of the issue. "We plan that this would result in an estimated reduction of 12,500 factory direct and professional employees over the next year. These decisions are difficult for the team, and we plan to support departing team members with severance benefits."

As way of a bare apology, the memo tried this: "We recognize these planned changes are broad and have very difficult implications for many of our team members. We will work to provide as much clarity and information as possible. Today and over the coming weeks leaders across the organization will hold town halls, host information sharing sessions and provide more details on the intranet."

Before this, the company's greatest round of layoffs occurred in 2009, when they cut nearly 5,000 jobs.

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