nancy_gohring
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Microsoft lays off 800 people

news
Nov 4, 20092 mins

The new cuts go beyond the 5,000 people the company said earlier this year that it would let go

Microsoft is laying off another 800 people, adding to the 5,000 the company has already let go this year.

The Techflash blog first reported the news.

The affected people are based around the world and work in various groups and will be notified on Wednesday, Microsoft said.

The layoffs are part of the plan that Microsoft announced in January to let go of 5,000 people, although Wednesday’s action adds to that original number. “In the ensuing 11 months from January until now, we realized we had to move a little beyond the 5,000, so that put us at about 5,800,” said Lou Gellos, a spokesman for Microsoft. While Microsoft initially said that it would complete the layoff program by June 2010, this round of layoffs finishes the plan, he said.

As is its usual policy, Microsoft will regularly monitor its size and make adjustments as needed, he said.

This marks the first large layoff in the company’s history. It immediately let go about 1,400 people after the cuts were announced in January. It made an additional cut in May, saying that the round nearly completed the total 5,000 cuts.

At the time, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that more cuts could happen.

The most recent cuts follow an earnings report that included a 14 percent drop in revenue. Market reception to the news was generally positive, since the drop was less than expected.

nancy_gohring

Nancy Gohring is a freelance journalist who started writing about mobile phones just in time to cover the transition to digital. She's written about PCs from Hanover, cellular networks from Singapore, wireless standards from Cyprus, cloud computing from Seattle and just about any technology subject you can think of from Las Vegas. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Computerworld, Wired, the Seattle Times and other well-respected publications.

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