Microsoft
- Job cuts: 18,000
For the first time since the Great Recession, Microsoft's massive workforce is shrinking.
The company behind Windows and Office announced plans to eliminate 18,000 jobs last summer. Most of the job cuts were executed in the devices and services business it purchased from Nokia.
Microsoft (MSFT) employed 118,584 workers as of the end of March, according to the company. That's down from 128,076 as of the end of June 2014, but it's still more than double the 61,000 people that it employed in 2005.
Just over half of Microsoft's employees are located in the U.S., including nearly 42,000 who work in the Puget Sound area of Washington State.
The cost-cutting moves led by CEO Satya Nadella may have helped Microsoft's stock price. It's up 16% over the past year, besting the S&P 500's 11% gain.
