Microsoft keeps laying off its employees, now it's the turn of Skype employees

As reported the Finnancial Times, Microsoft will begin a process of layoffs after which will close the London office that the Skype division has there. This process involves to more than 400 peopleA high figure, although not as high as the last restructuring of the company that meant shedding almost all the workforce it had inherited from Nokia.

In this case, London office closure doesn't mean I'm going to ditch SkypeMicrosoft has confirmed this, although it warns that it has started a process to unify the functions of engineers that it currently has in order to reduce staff.

Microsoft will continue with the rest of Skype offices and positions but those in London will not

Although this is the official version, several information has been collected from former employees of the company who have been in contact with Skype and warn that since the purchase, Microsoft has been gradually reducing and replacing old Skype employees with Microsoft employees, something that does not stop being normal in these situations although both parties always say otherwise. So little by little Microsoft will get rid not only of the original Skype employees but also of other companies that it has been buying in recent years.

In any case, I personally think Microsoft continues with its downsizing strategy, in other words, reduce its workforce to be more effective in the face of future changes that are to come. These plans are not typical of Microsoft but other large companies are doing the same with their templates such as Intel. In any case, the future of Skype's London office is sealed and with it the future of the employees in the company. But Will they really be the last layoffs of the company this year? Will there be any more nasty surprises at Microsoft? Will this affect the performance of Skype?