The Reuters report follows on the heels of assertions by the Bloomberg news agency earlier this week and echoes the New York Times, which also carries news of the rumoured retrenchments.
Microsoft currently employs 125,000 workers globally, including 25,000 transferred from Nokia with the completion of sale of the company’s mobile phone unit earlier this year. Just under 5,000 ex-Nokia workers are employed in Finland.
Following the Nokia phone division Microsoft said it would be aiming to save nearly 450 million euros. Back in 2009 the company let go 5,800 staffers, the largest mass sacking in its history at the time. Previously it has said it was introducing organisational changes.
Reuters bases its report on a number of anonymous sources inside the company, saying that the cuts due to be announced Thursday are of historic proportions.
Earlier this week Bloomberg reported that possible retrenchments were likely to affect former Nokia workers in Finland due to redundancies created with the purchase of the mobile phone business.