Skype cutting execs loose before Microsoft sale closes

Skype seems to be paring down its executive ranks as the Microsoft purchase of the video chat provider moves forward. Skype said it has sent several of its top execs packing .

"Skype, like any other pragmatic organization, constantly assesses its team structure to deliver its users the best products," a Skype spokesperson said. "As part of a recent internal shift, Skype has made some management changes."

Bloomberg reported VPs David Gurle, Christopher Dean, Russ Shaw and Don Albert were let go, as well as Chief Marketing Officer Doug Bewsher and Head of Human Resources Anne Gillespie. Even a pair of execs left over from Skype's purchase of Qik, Ramu Sunkara and Allyson Campa, were fired.

The real pain is that the value of their payouts is reduced because the deal with Microsoft hasn't closed yet.

Microsoft paid $8.5 billion for Skype May 10 and is expected to integrate it with Outlook email, as well as the Xbox game platform and in other yet-to-be-defined rolls.

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