Microsoft axes hundreds of jobs across the globe

[Guest]

It appears Microsoft has taken the hedge clippers to its payroll, trimming hundreds of jobs across the globe, with many of the losses occurring at the software giant's Redmond headquarters. This is apparently part of a "strategic realignment" that the company undergoes annually, but Microsoft employs almost 90,000 people, so dismissing hundreds doesn't exactly count as an exodus. In fact, the layoffs will probably balance out with the normal new hires taken in over the course of a year – the company picked up 416 people in the last quarter alone.

Given the Kin's recent belly-flop and Microsoft's somewhat lackluster performance (Apple recently bruised the giant by overtaking its total net worth) one might imagine the cuts would come to areas that have suffered recent public humiliation. However, rumors so far suggest that marketing positions are being targeted. Comments from posters on Mini-Microsoft, an unofficial Microsoft employee blog, indicate that at least some cutbacks have also occurred in other parts of the company. Because this is not a mass downsizing, Microsoft isn't likely to issue a press release on the matter – and that means only Microsoft HR knows how many people were cut and from where.

In any case, the sky is not falling in Redmond, although it is no doubt a dark day for those who got the axe.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/39566-microsoft-axes-hundreds-of-jobs-across-the-globe.html

 

[Vrmithrax]

Well, considering what a marketing nightmare the Kin was, I would hope that marketing positions are the ones being axed... I don't see any way they will ever recoup their marketing expenditures on that product alone. Plus, Windows 7 is pretty firmly entrenched now, so there is less need for a Win7 hype marketing team, so more room for trimming (until the next OS launch looms near).

I really truly hope that the first people canned were the ones that thought up the Kin and the group of "yes men" who propagated the attitude that it was ever a good idea. That group was clearly completely out of touch with the consumer base, and Microsoft doesn't need that kind of baggage weighing it down.