Microsoft plans to announce a new round of layoffs as early as Wednesday in an effort to reduce costs. The latest cuts are in addition to the 18,000 jobs the company said it planned to eliminate a year ago.

The majority of layoffs are expected to affect Microsoft's struggling smartphone business. Windows phones currently make up only 2.7 percent of the smartphone market, despite the company's acquisition of Nokia's Devices and Services unit last year in a $7.2 billion deal.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced in July last year that the company would be slashing 18,000 jobs, or 14 percent of its workforce, in order to 'realign' its staff. 12,500 of these cuts were to come from the 30,000 employees Microsoft inherited when it acquired Nokia.

Microsoft has also been selling off parts of its business recently. In June, the company said it was selling its online display advertising division to AOL, an area where it once had high hopes.

In a company email sent by Satya Nadella last month that was intended to rally employees for the coming year, the CEO also warned that Microsoft would need to "make some tough choices in areas where things are not working and solve hard problems in ways that drive customer value."