Its acquisition of Skype almost a certainty with the recent regulatory approval gained by the $8.5 billion deal, Microsoft gears up its consolidation move on its new pet by letting go of executives that experts said would save up some cash for the new owners of the fairly popular internet calling firm.

According to a Bloomberg report on Monday, Microsoft terminated the services of the following Skype vice presidents David Gurle, Christopher Dean, Russ Shaw and Don Albert, as well as Doug Bewsher and Anne Gillespie, who served as Skype's marketing and human resource heads respectively.

Also included in the axing list were Qik rollover executives Ramu Sunkara and Allyson Campa, said Bloomberg on its report citing unnamed sources.

Main reason for the separation apparently lies on Microsoft's intent to minimize the payout that it needs to make once the buyout has been formally completed and the move, sources said, was largely influenced and approved by California-based Silver Lake, which maintains a 70 percent stakes on Skype when eBay decided to scuttle its majority control on the company.

When reached for their comments on the reported dismissals, both Microsoft and Skype opted to remain mum on the issue though Skype allowed in a statement that the company was indeed implementing management shakeups, which it stressed were simply part of its internal leadership movements.

Microsoft publicly acknowledged its impending takeover of Skype last month, which the tech giant said will be integrated with its Outlook and Xbox services, and will be part of its much improved Windows mobile platform.

On June 17, the Federal Trade Commission announced its approval on the Microsoft-Skype deal, which should boost aims of Microsoft to catch up with the exploding mobile communications and social media segments of the tech industry by capitalizing on Skype's some 170 million active users.

Prior to its Silver Lake and Microsoft ownerships, Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis sold the eight-year-old company, which became a hit mainly in Europe, parts of the Americas and Asia for its free voice and video call capabilities, to eBay in 2005 for $2.6 billion.