“Microsoft Corp. is shutting down its Web display advertising business and handing operations over to AOL Inc. and AppNexus Inc., a person with knowledge of the matter said,” Dina Bass reports for Bloomberg.
“About 1,200 jobs at Microsoft will be impacted, with some positions to be moved to AOL and AppNexus,” Bass reports. “Some people will be offered other positions at Microsoft, while other jobs will be cut, the person said.”
Bass reports, “Peter Wootton, a spokesman for Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, declined to comment.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Good luck to those impacted by this decision.
SEE ALSO:
Microsoft CEO Nadella talks of ‘tough choices’ in latest memo to employees – June 25, 2015
Satya Nadell again rearranges the deck chairs, 4 senior Microsoft executives out, including Stephen Elop – June 18, 2015
Surface 3: Microsoft’s spork – April 6, 2015
Gates reduces Microsoft stake to just 3% – February 4, 2015
Beleaguered Microsoft axes another 2,100 employees – September 18, 2014
Beleaguered Microsoft’s 18,000 layoffs the beginning of a painful attempt to clean up Ballmer’s mess, says Street – July 17, 2014
Sad to hear about the job losses, however I will say I have been made redundant numerous times and each time it’s been tough but worthwhile.
I wouldn’t be where I am today without being let go a few times.
Let the axe fall
Shut it down, and sell off the parts. Where have I heard that before….
Do not let anyone go if it hurts their dignity, sense of identity, social cohesion, has the appearance of unconscious racism, or if the words ‘you’re fired’ should be interpreted as ‘we are a duck’
Tick. Tick. Tick.
The world has moved on to things you cannot bundle with Windows. The desktop hegemony is dead. People have choice.
Ding Dong!
I love the way that rolls out TM. 🙂
They had a display ad business?
Not trying to be funny; I really didn’t know that.
I’ve been there.
Being laid off is no fun.
Yes, no fun at all.
However, all the other people I know who have been laid off got a great severance package and then were soon rehired by someone else who paid more than they got before the lay off.
MSFT fiscal year ends today or so, the results are announced in about 3 weeks. Maybe they’re not so good.
Microsoft Web display advertising business? Really? Migrating to AOL?-gosh, good luck with that. About 1% of MS employees (worldwide) are affected – a tough time for those folks.
Forget MSFT, who is AOL? I though they died in the 1990s.
They gave out all those great, free coasters. So, they’re good with marketing. Picking AOL is just MSFT being true to itself!
‘a person with knowledge of the matter said’
Why do these articles always say this? As opposed to what, ‘a person who hadn’t a clue what he was talking about said’?
Come to think of it, the latter would often be more correct.
“Area man” would work.
Apple should follow suit. That would clearly demonstrate that Apple doesn’t have an interest in tracking your stuff in the iCloud. Sure, Apple can make public statements about privacy all it wants, but its keynotes don’t match the user agreements. At the end of the day, stuff in the iCloud can be used (or lost) at Apple’s whim. If Apple rid itself of advertising, it would eliminate the temptation for bad actors to use/track personal data inappropriately.
It’s interesting. This isn’t the first advertising business Microsoft has gotten rid of. Now, with this, I’m wondering whether there is a plan here. When doing advertising, you need a lot of personal information. Without it, not so much.
With Apple marketing their privacy intentions, it may become a sales issue. Possibly Microsoft is intending to move in that direction as well. We’ll see that they are if they change the opt out of Cortana’s personal information collection to an opt in instead.
I see they’re trying a different demographic. This weekend, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Sprint Cup car had “Windows 10” on it. Jr. was also wearing a Windows 10 hat in his interviews. Have never really seen Microsoft sponsorship so prominently in NASCAR. It’s funny, because I’ve seen Jr. using an iPhone. He may have to give it up, well…at least in public that is.
Microsoft makes some really good products. They have a world class cloud service. They can’t do advertising so they bailed out. Makes sense to me.
Little steps in the correct direction…