Microsoft to lay-off 5,000 jobs
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Profit dip for software wunderkind is the surest sign so far of recession in the IT industry
Software giant Microsoft announced yesterday that is to make 5,000 redundancies to counteract falling profits.
The announcement accompanies the financial results for its most recent quarter. Revenues for the three months ending in December 2008 were $16.6 billion, up just 2% year-on-year. Profit, meanwhile, fell 11% to $4.17 billion.
The company blamed falling PC shipments, which drove an 8% drop in PC software sales. The server software group counterbalanced that with a 15% sales growth, but desktop software has traditionally been Microsoft’s most profitable line, hence yesterday’s drastic measures.
Around 1,400 employees were dismissed yesterday, and the rest will go over the next 18 months. However, redundancies in the UK will be limited to around 60 people, a company spokesperson said.
