THE NEWS WRAP: Microsoft proceeds with plan to shed 18,000 employees

Microsoft will continue its planned layoffs of 18,000 workers, with job cuts across nearly all divisions of the company expected to occur later this week, ZDNet reports.

In July, Microsoft announced plans to realign its worldwide workforce by cutting 18,000 jobs; 12,500 of those job losses would come from employees Microsoft acquired as part of its acquisition of Nokia’s handset and services business.

The first wave of cuts in July saw 13,000 employees lose their jobs. It is not known how many will be cut in this week’s round, which is expected to be announced internally on Thursday, September 18.

iPhone NFC on lockdown

Apple has confirmed that when the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus launch, NFC will only be used for Apple Pay.

NFC could be used to pair devices, share files, or be integrated into other apps, but sources have told Cult of Mac that Apple has put the NFC chip on lockdown for now.

Like TouchID on the iPhone 5s, Apple is keeping NFC closed off from developers at launch. The company declined to comment on future plans for the NFC chip.

Secretive e-commerce startup Jet.com raises $20 million

Less than a year after leaving Amazon, Quidsi co-founder Marc Lore began work on Jet.com. The startup has now announced it has raised an additional $20 million in growth capital and a $5 million asset-backed facility from Silicon Valley Bank, bringing its Series A round to a total of $80 million at its close, TechCrunch reports.

There are few details about what Jet.com involves, but Lore says in a blog post recently that it’s a “new kind of e-commerce experience” which is “uniquely grounded in transparency and customer empowerment”.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 100.83 to 17,131.97. The Australian dollar is currently trading at US91 cents.