Traditionally, software and PC sell like hot cakes over Christmas. But with the United States in recession and growing job losses, holiday sales are projected to plummet big time and retailers are discounting heavily. There's only so much you can blame on the appalling winter weather in the US. So it's not surprising that Microsoft is set to slash staff.
The Mini-Microsoft blog has put together snippets of information about budget cuts and people being called into mysterious meetings to be interrogated about what they are working on. On top of that, people are being asked to account for their time by the hour. And according to that site, it will happen on January 15. "Bad news on the rise and with perhaps January 15th 2009 as an interesting day for Microsoft news. Bad news. 15 Jan is a week before FY09Q2 quarterly results and it's better to share as much news, good and bad, before the results are released vs. surprising Wall Street "
Microsoft employees are telling the media that the company is looking to sack 10% of its staff. Based on Microsoft's headcount, that would amount to 9400 jobs. Analysts predict that the company's profits for the year will rise just 3%, compared with its 7-10% guidance.
This is a significant development because Microsoft's headcount has been growing strongly. No-one is safe anymore.
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