Microsoft might want to overhaul how it handles severance benefits for laid off employees.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced in July that the company planned to cut 18,000 jobs, including 12,500 from the new Nokia department and 4,700 from a Beijing Nokia factory. (RELATED: Microsoft Cuts 18,000 Jobs)
Chinese Nokia employees reacted with protests, because no one wants to lose their job. Microsoft is trying to placate hard feelings with an embodiment of “severance benefits” — according to MarketWatch, Microsoft will offer free Nokia handsets to employees who sign up for the resignation package. According to a report cited by MarketWatch, Microsoft plans to serve the phones on a “first come, first serve basis,” up to only 300 employees per day.
But these Nokia phones aren’t even the newest model. Laid-off employees don’t get the Lumia Icon or the Lumia 1520, Microsoft is offering them the Lumia 630.
In a July press release, Microsoft announced they would be spending between $1.1 billion and $1.6 billion in severance benefits costs and asset related charges in the next year. When The Daily Caller requested information on what the severance benefits would look like, Microsoft declined to comment.
It appears we have at least part of our answer — do you work for Microsoft? Are you getting laid off? Congratulations on your new (old) Nokia phone.