Microsoft 2nd Round Cuts

Microsoft on Tuesday began the second round of its 5,000 job cuts with a memo circulating the news at the company. Obtained by All Things D, the note from Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer doesn't say how many more of the cuts have been made but explains that the company is "mostly but not all done" with the total sum, which it expects should be completed by June 2010. It adds that the layoffs aren't limited to the US and will include a share of international workers.

Simultaneously, Ballmer also warned that Microsoft was keeping a close eye on the economic situation and might institute "additional job eliminations" if the financial slump had a more severe impact on the firm's bottom line than first thought.

The cuts appear after two consecutive quarters of sub-par results for Microsoft, which included a decline in its Windows-centric client division during late 2008 as well as an extremely rare annual revenue decline in early 2009. The initial wave of cuts, which reached up to about 1,400, are believed to have focused heavily on Windows Mobile and Zune as the two groups consolidated into more efficient sections.

Other cuts are believed triggered by continued resistance to Windows Vista by businesses and some home users, neither of whom are likely to consider upgrades until Windows 7 releases later this year.

By Electronista Staff

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