Seventeen sales positions have been cut in the U.S. by Microsoft subsidiary Fast Search, the Oslo, Norway-based enterprise search provider acquired by the Redmond company earlier this year.

Ten of the positions were in the Boston area, where the division has 167 employees. Five were in New York, one in Washington, D.C., and one in California, a Microsoft representative confirmed via e-mail. (Xconomy reported on the Boston-area job cuts last night.)

This wasn't a Thanksgiving-eve layoff. Although word didn't surface publicly until this week, the company says the employees were actually notified of the job cuts last month, and they have been given an opportunity to pursue other jobs inside the company. Microsoft says the job cuts are part of the integration process following the acquisition.

Update: In addition, Fast eliminated eight marketing positions in September, for a total of 25 positions cut, according to the company. Microsoft says those jobs also were dropped as part of the integration process, and the employees were likewise given a chance to find positions elsewhere in the company.