Microsoft about to cut 15,000 jobs? January 15th Redmond Armageddon?

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http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/speculation-about-microsoft-cutbacks-heats/story.aspx?guid={00A0555E-2724-49E4-AA3C-B2FAEA98805B}&siteid=yhoof

I wasn't aware things were really that bad for MS.  Though maybe this is just some out-of-control blogger BS that Marketwatch picked up on....I doubt they would have run the story based entirely on some anonymous web postings (though that's what it looks like they did :/)

I forget how many here get their checks signed by Uncle Bill, but best of luck to you all.  Hopefully they will just fire the employees that suck (Rare plz).

[Van Cruncheon]

it's straight-up rumormongering based on this blog: minimsft.blogspot.com

[Fragamemnon]

I think the permanent MS employees only really need to worry if A) their performance reviews have sucked or B) the contractors have already been dismissed, for they are the canaries in the modern coal mine. My understanding is that for a good swath of the industry B) hasn't happened yet in most of the big software houses.

[recursivelyenumerable]

haha, I was just reading the minimsft entries on this a couple hours ago.

[drozmight]

The gallows were built over Christmas.

[Van Cruncheon]

minimsft is a shithole of screeching post-libertarian ex-softies with an axe to grind and bitter ten-percenters who feel underappreciated despite their general incompetence. oh, and the trolls trying to tank the stock.

[Bocsius]

That about wraps it up for the Xbox division. Oh well, I guess it was time to get a Blu Ray player anyway.

[Van Cruncheon]

i got quite a few friends in e&d who don't seem too concerned

[recursivelyenumerable]

minimsft is a shithole of screeching post-libertarian ex-softies with an axe to grind and bitter ten-percenters who feel underappreciated despite their general incompetence. oh, and the trolls trying to tank the stock.

despite never having worked for MS I somehow identify with all those, which is why I read it I guess

also "redmond, gaea" is an anagram for armageddon, coincidence?

[Van Cruncheon]

you were never anything resembling libertarian, and you just feel unappreciated period -- i sorely doubt you're actually incompetent -- so don't play that way

[Eric P]

you were never anything resembling libertarian, and you just feel unappreciated period -- i sorely doubt you're actually incompetent -- so don't play that way

pwned with compliments.

amazingly adept our prole is.

[border]

minimsft is a shithole of screeching post-libertarian ex-softies with an axe to grind and bitter ten-percenters who feel underappreciated despite their general incompetence. oh, and the trolls trying to tank the stock.

Well like I said I'd assumed that Marketwatch would have done some due dilligence before running this story, corroborating it with more reliable sources.  Certainly a finance media outlet of that size has some standards (?).

If MS hasn't fired all their contractors yet I don't think the hammer is gonna come down too quickly (if at all).

[Van Cruncheon]

hysteria gets the hits. trouble is, the indian times and some other blogs ran with stories based entirely on the blog comments, and that only gave it momentum.


nobody who is in a position to know about layoffs would share it on minimsft.

[Kestastrophe]

It would not make sense for MS to make layoffs since they just initiated a multibillion dollar stock repurchase just a few months ago. Crazier things have happened I suppose

[Van Cruncheon]

in this case, frag is pretty close to the truth.

actually, this post says it:

This really isn’t much different from 2002-2003...

I suspect we will again see no or very little bonus for average performers (low performers already don’t get a bonus), stock grants probably fairly low as well other than for top 20% and re-org driven RIF's combined with extended hiring ramps... pretty typical so am not sure what the hype is all about this time.

[border]

Not as bad as rumored, but cuts are here.  I guess nobody is recession-proof.  I dunno if this is a necessary cut, or just a sacrifice to satisfy the gods of Wall Street.  No more merit-based pay raises either, so at least there's no penalty for slacking off -- I estimate a 9% increase in total Evilbore posts.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090122/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_microsoft

Microsoft says it will slash 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months as it reported an 11 percent drop in second-quarter profit.

The software giant said Thursday the moves were driven by deteriorating global economic conditions and lower client revenue, resulting from weakness in the PC market and a shift to lower-priced notebook models.

The Redmond, Wash.-based company says profit slipped to $4.17 billion, or 47 cents per share, from year-ago earnings of $4.71 billion, or 50 cents per share.

[dammitmattt]

Not as bad as rumored, but cuts are here.  I guess nobody is recession-proof.  I dunno if this is a necessary cut, or just a sacrifice to satisfy the gods of Wall Street.

I'll go with option B

[ToxicAdam]

5000 jobs over 18 months sounds like mostly attrition to me.

[Eric P]

redmondgeddon

[Flannel Boy]

5000 jobs over 18 months sounds like mostly attrition to me.

Is it in this economic climate? MS has a young workforce, so wouldn't most of the attrition normally result from people quitting and going somewhere else?

[ToxicAdam]

Yea, I was going to edit that remark. It will still be a lot of real jobs lost. What's that, about 250 every month?

[drozmight]

Hmm... this is not good.

[CajoleJuice]

MAF  :'(

[Enl]

MAF  :'(

Next in the news: Mass EvilBore layoffs. 

[Van Cruncheon]

maf and tvc are okay.

[The Fake Shemp]

We will be letting go of 200 members a month due to strain on hardware.

[Flannel Boy]

We will be letting go of 200 members a month due to strain on hardware.

Active members? If so, come February there will be no new posts.

[Eric P]

We will be letting go of 200 members a month due to strain on hardware.

i have a list of people i've been keeping just for this instance

[Purple Filth]

Yea, I was going to edit that remark. It will still be a lot of real jobs lost. What's that, about 250 every month?

They cut 1400 already on the day of announcement (basically yesterday). Hearing that cut was mostly from the entertainment division (members of GamescoreBlog that got shut down, etc)

[Ecrofirt]

maf and tvc are okay.

And what of our other resident MS employee?

[Ninja]

I guy I know was laid-off by MS yesterday. It sucks. He was on the train simulator team.

[Purple Filth]

Microsoft says it will slash 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months as it reported an 11 percent drop in second-quarter profit.

The software giant said Thursday the moves were driven by deteriorating global economic conditions and lower client revenue, resulting from weakness in the PC market and a shift to lower-priced notebook models.

The Redmond, Wash.-based company says profit slipped to $4.17 billion, or 47 cents per share, from year-ago earnings of $4.71 billion, or 50 cents per share.

Some fuckers need to get strung up by the nipples for this shit. A company that made a quarterly profit of $4.17 billion is cutting jobs?

Opportunity to cut some fat i guess and with these times people wont demonize as much.

I guy I know was laid-off by MS yesterday. It sucks. He was on the train simulator team.

looks like its making the news now.

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21981

[TVC15]

Microsoft says it will slash 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months as it reported an 11 percent drop in second-quarter profit.

The software giant said Thursday the moves were driven by deteriorating global economic conditions and lower client revenue, resulting from weakness in the PC market and a shift to lower-priced notebook models.

The Redmond, Wash.-based company says profit slipped to $4.17 billion, or 47 cents per share, from year-ago earnings of $4.71 billion, or 50 cents per share.

Some fuckers need to get strung up by the nipples for this shit. A company that made a quarterly profit of $4.17 billion is cutting jobs?

This is supposed to be a "preparing for the upcoming shitty year" cut.  It's only going to get worse from here on out.

[Fragamemnon]

Yeah, might be rocky times ahead for MS. They stopped giving earnings forecasts too, which means they really aren't sure where they are heading.

One of the more interesting aspects about the losses is a reference to netbooks that I heard on NPR-apparently the growing popularity of the machines is causing a real pinch for Microsoft since they really can't go and demand that Acer or Asus pay out a full cost for an OEM license for such an inexpensive machine.  Though I think the obvious answer is that lower than expected business adoption of Vista and delaying of projects that use big-bucks MS software to run, mixed with slumping consumer demand for new PCs, is hurting them more than anything else.

[demi]

Hopefully they cut the Songsmith assholes.

[TVC15]

One of the more interesting aspects about the losses is a reference to netbooks that I heard on NPR-apparently the growing popularity of the machines is causing a real pinch for Microsoft since they really can't go and demand that Acer or Asus pay out a full cost for an OEM license for such an inexpensive machine.  Though I think the obvious answer is that lower than expected business adoption of Vista and delaying of projects that use big-bucks MS software to run, mixed with slumping consumer demand for new PCs, is hurting them more than anything else.

Well, don't forget that MS basically lengthened the availability of XP due to the netbook explizosion.  MS apparently now has 80% of the netbook market, and Win7 has been developed with that market in mind, too.

It's kind of a bummer.  Win7 is shaping up to be pretty great, but at this point, even the OS of the Gods wouldn't be able to compete with the collapsing world economy.

[Tauntaun]

One of the more interesting aspects about the losses is a reference to netbooks that I heard on NPR-apparently the growing popularity of the machines is causing a real pinch for Microsoft since they really can't go and demand that Acer or Asus pay out a full cost for an OEM license for such an inexpensive machine.  Though I think the obvious answer is that lower than expected business adoption of Vista and delaying of projects that use big-bucks MS software to run, mixed with slumping consumer demand for new PCs, is hurting them more than anything else.

Well, don't forget that MS basically lengthened the availability of XP due to the netbook explizosion.  MS apparently now has 80% of the netbook market, and Win7 has been developed with that market in mind, too.

It's kind of a bummer.  Win7 is shaping up to be pretty great, but at this point, even the OS of the Gods wouldn't be able to compete with the collapsing world economy.

I'm going to get Win7, been waiting for it ever since I heard about it. 

[Brehvolution]

We've been giving MS a ton of money so far this year at work. So far, as of the first of the year, we bought at least 8 2008 Server licenses and 12 Office 2007 Enterprise licenses. 2 Dell T5400's with 3.33ghz xeons and Vista 64 business, 1 Dell  Latitude E6500 with Vista 64 Business.

There is an offer on the table to move to Exchange 2007 with 125 users.

We're still in January. 

[Van Cruncheon]

i think the biggest shocker is that there were people who were unaware of how bad the economy actually is. how nice it must be to live in a bubble!

"why are people getting laid off when the sector is largely profitable"

"have you read the business section of a newspaper lately?"

"no i only read code/gadget/movie/videogame/anime forums and play wow"

"well i told you it was dire four months ago"

"yeah but i look out the window of my apartment and i don't see any mad max shit"

<facepalm>

[Oblivion]

I really should check out Mad Max, at the very least to get all the references.

[Tauntaun]

i think the biggest shocker is that there were people who were unaware of how bad the economy actually is. how nice it must be to live in a bubble!

"why are people getting laid off when the sector is largely profitable"

"have you read the business section of a newspaper lately?"

"no i only read code/gadget/movie/videogame/anime forums and play wow"

"well i told you it was dire four months ago"

"yeah but i look out the window of my apartment and i don't see any mad max shit"

<facepalm>

  That reads like a Megatokyo strip.

[Snuflupagulus]

So, how rough has it been for contractors?  My brother-in-law has a friend who works at MS who used to state, "You'll know it's bad if the contractors are gone."  'Course, that never really happened.  Though, I suppose to make way for those beached, it has.  That can't be good.  Isn't Google also in a lull in Kirkland or Fremont or wherever they are?  I heard they've slowed down their machinations quite a bit.  Amazon?

I was back in Seattle over the winter holiday.  Anecdotally, you could tell it was bad because driving through Fife, the Mini dealership had cars overflowing the lot.  When my sister bought hers a year ago, you had to order to get a new one.  And then wait.  Not so much anymore.