Microsoft cuts jobs, 18,000 of them to be exact as it aims to streamline its business under the leadership of CEO Satya Nadella. A statement released Thursday noted that the Redmond tech giant will remove around 12,500 professional and factory jobs as part of its $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia’s mobile division.

“My promise to you is that we will go through this process in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible,” CEO Nadella said in a memo to Microsoft employees.

Nadella replaced Steve Ballmer in February as the company’s top executive in February. He said that a “vast majority” of employees affected by the layoffs will be notified in the next six months. He also mentioned that those who will lose their positions would earn severance and receive job transition help. USA Today notes that the cuts will be completed by next June.

Microsoft’s recent layoffs, which employs a total of 125,000 people, is its biggest ever. The company’s purchase of Nokia’s handset business in April added 25,000 people to its payroll.

Daniel Ives, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets, told USA Today that Nadella’s “larger than expected” layoffs hints at his plans of simplifying Microsoft’s infrastructure.

"Under the Ballmer era, there were many layers of management and a plethora of expensive initiatives being funded that has thus hurt the strategic and financial position the company is in, especially in light of digesting the Nokia acquisition," Ives says, USA Today reports.

"Nadella is using today as an opportunity to make sure that Microsoft is ready and well positioned to embark on its next chapter of growth around mobile and cloud.”

According to USA Today, Microsoft expects to incur pre-tax charges as high as $1.6 billion over the next four quarters. It will include $750 million to $800 million for severance and related benefit costs, as well as $350 million to $800 million of asset-related charges.