More job cuts coming at Microsoft
An estimated 3,000 Microsoft employees have been told they are to lose their jobs. It’s part of the 5,000 job cuts announced earlier this year, and it appears far more cuts will follow.
Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer announced the cuts in an e-mail to staff. He noted, “we are mostly but not all done with the planned 5,000 job eliminations by June 2010.” That figure and timetable were part of the firm’s original announcement back in January.
It’s reported, though not specifically confirmed by Microsoft, that 3,000 jobs will go in this round of cuts, following on from 1,400 in January. That means almost 90 percent of the total is accounted for more than a year before the original deadline.
According to the memo, the reason the latest round has come so quickly is to reduce uncertainty for employees, while giving departments a clearer idea of how many staff they will be left with.
However, the memo notes that if the economy continues to struggle, Microsoft may “if necessary, take further actions on our cost structure including additional job eliminations.” Refusing to rule out cuts beyond the original announcement certainly raises the possibility that things are worse than originally expected.
While Microsoft isn’t giving any details of which departments will feel the brunt of the cuts, it says the headcount will be split fairly evenly between the US business and overseas offices. That’s a similar pattern to the original cuts.
It’s also important to note that Microsoft plans to take on between 2,000 and 3,000 new staff during the next 18 months. These will be in new posts rather than replacing the laid-off staff, which gives a strong signal that the firm will be adjusting its operations to concentrate on more profitable elements of its business.
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