Microsoft announces largest layoff ever

Eighteen thousand jobs.

Microsoft announcing those cuts Thursday - in what amounts to 14 percent of its workforce, the deepest layoffs in its nearly 4-decade history.

Most of the cuts are linked to Nokia, which Microsoft acquired in April for its handset business as it moved deeper into smartphones.

Last week, CEO Satya Nadella - on the job five months - sent a memo to employees saying Microsoft would need to move faster and more efficiently.

Lance Ulanoff is Chief Correspondent and Editor-at-Large at Mashable.

SOUNDBITE: LANCE ULANOFF, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT AND EDITOR-AT-LARGE, MASHABLE (ENGLISH) SAYING:

"He kind of gave a hint that there was going to be pain involved here. So here comes the pain."

SOUNDBITE: LILY JAMALI, REPORTER, REUTERS TV (ENGLISH) SAYING:

"Wall Street welcomed the news. Microsoft stock popped in early trading Thursday to its highest level since the dot-com boom in the early 2000s."

Ulanoff says the move shows Na