Microsoft plans management shake up: Report

NEW YORK: Software giant Microsoft Corp is expected to shake up the management of its division focused on videogames, mobile phones and other devices, says a media report.

Attributing to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal said that the software company could announce major organisational changes at its entertainment and devices division as early as this week.

Besides, J Allard, the chief experience officer and chief technology officer of the group, is expected to leave that role following Microsoft's recent decision to shut down a tablet PC development project known internally as Courier, that Allard was overseeing, the report noted.

But the organisational shakeup is broader than Allard's departure from his role, it added.

The division includes Microsoft's Xbox videogame business and Windows Phone, an operating system for mobile phones. The unit accounted for USD 1.67 billion in sales during the first three months of the year, or about 11 percent of Microsoft's USD 14.5 billion in revenue during the period.