Microsoft has reportedly begun trimming (or slashing, depending on how you want to look at it) its workforce by letting go of a "small percentage" of employees who held marketing positions with the Redmond software giant as it looks to revamp and streamline its operations. The company didn't specific exactly how many employees were let go, though several reports have the number pegged at 200.

ZDNet's Mary-Jo Foley captured a tweet by Maher Al-Khaiyat (@mkhaiy), a Marketing Manager at Microsoft, announcing "major layoffs today as a result of marketing org restructuring," though it has since been removed. In a separate report, GeekWire claims to have confirmed with Microsoft that layoffs are now underway.

"Given the rapid changes in technology and the shifts in how our customers connect with Microsoft, great marketing is more important than ever to Microsoft’s future success," a Microsoft representative said in a statement, according to GeekWire. "We’re taking steps to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our marketing, and to strengthen career paths for marketers at Microsoft. Some of these changes involved the reduction of a small percentage of marketing positions, to better align our resources with our business needs and clarify roles across the marketing function."

Microsoft recently reported record revenue of $20.89 billion for its second fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2011, up 5 percent from one year prior.