Getting laid off is bad enough. Being asked to give back part of your severance check is -- frankly -- insulting. But that's what is going on at Microsoft, which overpaid some recently laid off workers and is now asking them to give back the difference.

"This letter is to inform you that an inadvertent administrative error occurred that resulted in an overpayment of severance pay by Microsoft. We ask that you repay the overpayment and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience to you," according to a Feb. 18 letter obtained by TechCrunch.

In an email to TechFlash, a Microsoft spokesman confirmed that the letter is authentic. But he added that it is "a private matter between the company and the affected people."

He did not have details on the number of people affected or the dollar amounts involved. And he couldn't answer the most obvious question: Why wouldn't a company with Microsoft's cash reserves ($20 billion at last count) just cover the extra severance expenses?

Microsoft, which laid off 1,400 people last month, also may have underpaid some laid off workers, according to TechCrunch.

Obviously, Microsoft is not accustomed to laying off staff. Even still, the mistake is leading to some pretty harsh criticism of the company in the blogosphere. "Shame on Microsoft," wrote one TechCrunch reader.