Microsoft pruning more jobs |
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Microsoft is preparing to make a new round of job cuts as early as tomorrow, according to people with knowledge of the situation, but the unconfirmed numbers we're hearing are relatively small in the scheme of things -- far less than the thousands of jobs cut by the company last year.
The move suggests the company is continuing to keep a tight rein on expenses, and its overall headcount, even as the tech industry emerges from the economic recession. The cuts come at the beginning of a new fiscal year, often a time when Microsoft makes adjustments in product teams to align them with new strategies.
Microsoft representatives declined to comment, and we haven't yet been able to find out which groups inside the company will be impacted most. Even with the upcoming cuts, the company is expected to continue adding jobs in other areas, as has been its practice when making layoffs in the past.
[Follow-up: Microsoft job cuts in hundreds, scattered across company]
Overall, the company has recently returned to growth mode, albeit modestly.
Microsoft worldwide employed 88,596 people as of the end of June, including 39,824 in the Seattle region. That was up slightly from 88,180 worldwide and 39,738 in the local region at the end of March, but still down from the 91,743 worldwide and 40,210 in the Seattle area at the end of July last year. The numbers don't include the company's substantial contract work force, employed through third-party vendors.
Because of the smaller size of these latest layoffs, it's not clear if the cuts will trigger a formal public announcement or acknowledgment by the company, but they're likely to make news nonetheless as the workers who lose their jobs tell others about the situation. The situation has been the subject of widespread rumors inside the company in recent days.
Microsoft reports quarterly and annual earnings July 22.
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