Microsoft To Shed Some Softies?
Over the holiday break, I came across an
article from The Hindu news service about some Wall Streeters suggesting that Microsoft jettison nearly 10,000 employees. Why anyone would listen to Wall Street these days is beyond me. Shouldn't Wall Street listen to Microsoft, a company that has more than proven it knows how to run a business?
In any event, it didn't take long for layoff rumors to swirl. The rumor mills upped Wall Street numbers, and had as many as 15,000 pink slips (with Vista logos?) sent out (via Hotmail or Exchange, I wonder). Steve Ballmer himself contributed to the conflagration by telling shareholders that Microsoft was "looking to reduce head count." But now, some of these shoot-from-the-hip bloggers are backing away from their layoff predictions.
There are lots of ways for Redmond to shrink the workforce. It can let contractors go and not fill the jobs of all the retiring Microsoft millionaires. Layoffs? I'll believe it when I see it.
Posted by Doug Barney on January 07, 2009