In a move that has been speculated on for months, Nokia announced today that in order to cut costs by $1.46 billion, it will outsource its Symbian software and cut 4,000 jobs.  Earlier estimates, such as this one, were that 6,000 jobs would be cut.

The cuts come as a result of Nokia reaching an agreement with Microsoft to start using Microsoft’s software on its upcoming phones instead of Nokia’s platform, which is Symbian.

In addition to the 4,000 staff that will be laid off, another 3,000 employees will be transferred to Accenture.  The 7,000 workers that will be affected represents 12 percent of Nokia’s phone unit workforce.

All of the work related to its Symbian software will be done by Accenture.  Future smartphone support will be taken care of by Accenture as well, even when the transition is made to Windows phones.