Microsoft's healthcare AI arm Nuance Communications plans to cut jobs

Speech-recognition company Nuance Communications, acquired by Microsoft for $19.7 billion, is undergoing layoffs as it focuses on its healthcare business.

Nuance CEO Mark Benjamin notified employees about the job cuts in an internal memo, without detailing the number of staffers or departments affected, according to the Boston Globe.

"We continue to see macroeconomic pressures affect our industries, as well as market shifts that are evolving our customers' needs," Benjamin wrote in the email.

He further stated that it is critically important that "we maintain our ability to make key investments in our businesses so that we can deliver on our current plans and are able to capitalise on the future opportunities we have ahead of us".

"In order to do this, we made the difficult decision this week to eliminate some positions across the company," Benjamin was quoted as saying.

In one of the biggest tech deals, Microsoft in April 2021 announced for the first time to acquire speech-recognition company Nuance Communications for $19.7 billion in an all-cash transaction.

Microsoft had said that the acquisition will combine solutions and expertise to deliver new cloud and AI capabilities across healthcare and other industries.

Nuance is a pioneer and a leading provider of conversational AI and cloud-based ambient clinical intelligence for healthcare providers.

"Nuance provides the AI layer at the healthcare point of delivery and is a pioneer in the real-world application of enterprise AI," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had said.

At $19.7 billion, Nuance was Microsoft's second largest acquisition after LinkedIn that the company bought in 2016 for $27 billion.

Earlier this year, Microsoft announced to lay off 10,000 employees across the company.

The company will also not give any raise to salaried employees, including senior leaders, this year as global macroeconomic conditions continue to haunt Big Tech.

--IANS

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