This is not exactly the happy new year news that anyone was looking for out there. In theory the cuts are supposed to be the typical cuts in contractors and retirements, so let's hope for the best.
Microsoft will embark on a significant cost-cutting initiative in 2009, which might begin as early as this month, to offset a global slowdown in sales.
However, sources tell me the cuts will largely be handled through attrition and the non-renewal of contract employees, rather than through a rumored, sweeping layoff.
Rumors of a broad workforce reduction at the world's largest software maker have been swirling since a blog post last week purported to show that Microsoft was preparing to lay off as many as 15,000 employees, or 17 percent of its workforce.
A Microsoft source tells me that the speculation is "grossly exaggerated," but added that "any company not paying careful attention to headcount in a climate like this is nuts."
