Microsoft Corp. said it eliminated 1,400 Thursday and will slash up to 5,000 in six departments over the next 18 months. The news follows the Redmond, Wash.-based giant�s 11 pecent decline in second-quarter . Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) reported $4.2 billion in for the quarter. Microsoft has 1,865 employees in and 180 of those are in Houston, according to a y spokeswoman. �Today�s actions are the result of our need to improve efficiency and rebalance resources against our priorities, but it is not a decision we take lightly,� the spokeswoman said in an e-mail statement. �We expect that the global environment will continue to be challenging and we will continue to evaluate our to ensure that our are aligned to current and opportunities. �We continue to believe in the strength of the y, our ability to continue delivering to customers and our approach to long-term . The majority of today�s job eliminations are in Redmond, consistent with the high concentration of employees based at our headquarters in the Seattle area. Some positions in are included in these immediate eliminations, and represent a relatively small proportion of our here.� The y plans to cut its in the marketing, e, human resources and information technology departments. Microsoft expects the to reduce operating expenses by about $1.5 billion.