Waggener Edstrom has sliced five percent of its estimated 900-staffer workforce as flagship client Microsoft undergoes a large restructuring.

The cuts – 43 total -- amount to about 33 employees in Seattle and Portland in the U.S.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in July announced a "One Microsoft" plan to revamp the entire company, including its marketing communications operations. Ballmer plans to retire sometime in the next year.

WaggEd senior VP Peter Wooton told the Seattle Times that client cuts mostly at Microsoft, as well as the firm's forthcoming shift to automated analytics and insights spurred the cuts. 

In a statement, WaggEd said the firm changes with its bluechip client. "We have a long history with Microsoft, and we adapt with them," the firm said. "Along with their reorganizations, there were some budget reductions that we took."