Microsoft to axe as much as 40% of their marketing staff in search of better value for money

Microsoft spent $13.9 billion on sales and marketing in fiscal 2011, but has been losing the battle for consumers to companies like Apple and Google.

Now it is rumoured that a comprehensive review of their marketing operations is underway which could see as much as 40% of their staff being given the boot.

The review is being led by Chris Capossela, who took over as the company’s chief marketing officer last year and is in response to Steve Ballmer not believing the company is getting enough return on the billions it spends annually on marketing.

Job cuts could involve thousands of employees.

Peter Wootton, a spokesman for Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, declined to comment.

Microsoft has increasingly been finding building a good product is not enough, and the company has allowed a strong public sentiment against the company to develop which has been depressing the stock price for a decade. Despite a rumoured budget of $500 million for the launch of Windows Phone 7 a year ago, consumer awareness and acceptance of Windows Phone remains low. House cleaning is likely long overdue.

Read more at Bloomberg here.

Via LiveSide.net.