Microsoft says it will cut 9,000 employees from its workforce, about 4% of its staff. Layoffs are nothing new at the company – it shed 10,000 jobs just two years ago – but this latest reduction brings the year's total to roughly 15,000 workers.

Alex Halverson, reporter for The Seattle Times, has been following these Microsoft layoffs and found some of what's steering decisions about headcount and the future of the company. 

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