Microsoft is closing down its research lab in Silicon Valley

Microsoft Research will close its Silicon Valley lab as part its latest round of job cuts, the company just confirmed. About 50 Microsoft Research positions will be cut in Silicon Valley, with some operations consolidating with Microsoft Research labs in Redmond; Cambridge, Mass.; and New York, according to a company spokesman. Microsoft’s Silicon Valley lab opened in 2001. The company described the move as an “organizational consolidation” designed to streamline operations.

One of the casualties of the latest round of job cuts at Microsoft is the Microsoft Research (MSR) Silicon Valley lab. On September 18, Microsoft officials acknowledged the company would be cutting 2,100 jobs across the company worldwide as part of the previously announced layoffs of 18,000 disclosed in July 2014. Of today’s cuts, 747 are in the Washington state area, and 160 total in California, a Microsoft spokesperson said. Derek Murray, a Microsoft Research researcher in distributed systems, tweeted that “Today they (Microsoft) announced that the lab in Silicon Valley will be closing, effective Friday.” Microsoft Research’s Silicon Valley outpost, located in Mountain View, Calif., was founded in 2001 and currently employs close to 50, a company spokesperson said.