There have been rumors circulating for months that Microsoft wasn’t done with its plans for layoffs. I kept asking around and kept getting nothing definitive back.
On July 6, Todd Bishop at TechFlash reported there would be more cuts coming, possibly as soon as this week (the week of July 5). Bishop said the numbers of those likely to be affected were unconfirmed but “far less than the thousands of jobs cut by the company last year.”
(Micrsoft cut more than 5,000 jobs last year in two waves. CEO Steve Ballmer said last year that more cuts could be coming, without offering any timetable or further details.)
News.com’s Ina Fried reported that some cuts are coming, but not as broad as those which happened last year, citing an unnamed source.
The timing of the cuts, if they happen, makes sense. Microsoft’s new fiscal year commenced on July 1, 2010, and the company is due to report its fiscal 2010 earnings on July 22.
On the anonymously-penned Mini Microsoft blog, talk of pending job cuts has been circulating for months, prior to Microsoft’s recent decision to halt development of the recently introduced Kin feature phones. Speculation about where those cuts might fall has been all over the map. I’ve heard the Server and Tools Business (STB) mentioned by a few individuals, with no further details as to specific teams which might get trimmed.
One theory has Microsoft “getting rid of long termers to make way for cheaper newbies.” Again, I have no further information at this time to corroborate this.
I’d be interested in hearing from anyone with more information or who gets cut in any new round of layoffs. If you are squeamish about leaving a comment in the Talkbacks, you can reach me using the e-mail form below. All information is treated as confidential.
