According to the Financial Times, Microsoft will close its Skype office in London, UK, and will lay off hundreds of employees. Microsoft said that this is to unify some technical positions, which may affect employees in relevant departments of Skype and Yammer.

The hundreds of employees laid off this time are also in the plan of Microsoft to lay off nearly 2850 employees in the fourth quarter of 2016. At present, there are about 400 employees in Skype's London office. Microsoft confirmed that it will fire about 220 employees in Skype's London office this time. Skype was founded in London in 2003. It used to be synonymous with internet telephony around the world. After being acquired by Microsoft for US $8.5 billion in 2011, Skype still operates independently. The company gathers a large number of European Internet elites. Russ Shaw, a former executive of Skype, said that Skype is one of the most iconic technology companies in Europe, and is a "unicorn" with innovative pedigree and a large number of talents. London has been trying to build a strong foundation for world-class technology companies, but it was unexpected that Microsoft would make such a wrong decision.