Microsoft hands pink slips to 3,000

No one is immune to this recession; not even a giant like Microsoft. The company laid off 3,000 workers this week, the second wave of a reduction the company announced in January. Does this make Microsoft a better company? Is Microsoft weathering the storm in a smart way? It's hard to say. But if every major industry in the United States is affected, it stands to reason that a company as big and strong as Microsoft will be, too.

According to ComputerWorld, a memo to employees from CEO Steve Ballmer said, "As we move forward, we will continue to closely monitor the impact of the economic downturn on the company and if necessary, take further actions on our cost structure including additional job eliminations."

Microsoft announced in January that it would eliminate 5,000 positions, more than 5 percent of the 96,000 full-time workers. The latest layoffs, part of the 5,000, are split between workers in the United States and overseas, according to a spokeswoman.

For more on Microsoft's economic plans:
- check out this ComputerWorld.com article

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