Microsoft Said to Plan Marketing Reorganization That Includes Job Cuts

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/microsoft-said-to-be-planning-reorganization-of-marketing-job-reductions.html

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is making plans for a companywide restructuring of its marketing operations, a move that may include hundreds of job cuts, according to people familiar with the matter.

The plans haven’t been settled and could change, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the review isn’t public. Job cuts are unlikely to involve thousands of employees, the people said. Initial steps could be announced within the next 30 days, according to one person.

The changes would eliminate overlap in job responsibilities and are designed to help the company better respond to threats from Apple Inc. (AAPL), Google (GOOG) Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., which are increasingly targeting Microsoft’s corporate-computing customers. Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer doesn’t think the company is getting enough return on the billions it spends annually on marketing, the people said.