The company is also writing off 7.6 billion dollars related to its acquisition of the Nokia phone business. This is the second round of layoffs in a year for the software giant, which in 2014 had cut 18,000 jobs after taking over Nokia. The operation has so far failed to increase the market share of Windows Phone on the smartphone market, estimated at only 3.2 percent in 2015. "In the near-term, we'll run a more effective and focused phone portfolio while retaining capability for long-term reinvention in mobility," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. "We are moving from a strategy to grow a standalone phone business to a strategy to grow and create a vibrant Windows ecosystem including our first-party device family."The company has high hopes for the launch of its new operating system for PCs, Windows 10, available in late July. But things are more complicated on the market for smartphones, with competitors like Samsung and Apple and the operating systems Android and iOS. (AGI)