After being bought by Microsoft, Skype is rumored to have fired senior executives to reduce their payout before the deal’s close. Bloomberg reports that the sources of this information wish to remain anonymous, because the dismissals are not public. Those let go include Vice Presidents David Gurle, Christopher Dean, Russ Shaw and Don Albert; Chief Marketing Officer Doug Bewsher; Anna Gillespie, the head of human resources; and two executives, Ramu Sunkara and Allyson Campa.

Internet voice calling service Skype has bought a Qik, one of their biggest competitor for $150 million. The Qik team will be paid $100 million up front and $50 million will be in earn-out. It’s likely that Skype will discuss their strategy with the Qik acquisition at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.