Microsoft Has Also Laid Off Some Of Its High-Powered Lobbyists

Microsoft's shockingly huge 18,000-employee layoff announced on Thursday also includes cutting the jobs of some of the Washington, D.C., lobbyists working for Microsoft and Nokia.

Nokia lobbyist Leo Fitzsimon and Microsoft lobbyist Rebecca Mark were given pink slips, as were Microsoft policy counsel Eric Wenger, Senior Director Betsy Brady, and Nokia Director of Regulatory Affairs Industry Jeanette Kennedy, Politico reports.

Rebecca Mark joined Microsoft in 2013. In her farewell email to staffers, she praised her time with the tech company and how she learned to "fight the good fight for technology policy," Politico reports.

In recent years, Microsoft has been considered a "heavy hitter" corporate lobbyist by an organization that tracks lobbying money spent, OpenSecrets.org.

For instance, Microsoft has its own Political Action Committee (PAC) fund and uses it to donate to many political campaigns. Microsoft also spent nearly $10.5 million on lobbying in 2013, OpenSecrets.org says, to influence policy in areas like immigration, taxes, patents, and telecommunications.

This doesn't mean that Microsoft will be out of the lobbying business altogether, though. OpenSecrets.org reports that in 2013, Microsoft had up to 110 lobbyists working for the company.

But it does indicate that CEO Satya Nadella is turning over every stone when he says that he's overhauling all parts of Microsoft's culture.

We've reached out to Microsoft for comment.