Redmond, Washington — Mass downsizing at Microsoft continues, as the Redmond, Wash.-based software behemoth on Wednesday said that it is notifying approximately 800 workers that their jobs are being eliminated in addition to 5,000 layoffs it announced earlier this year.
“Earlier this year, Microsoft said we that in order to reduce costs, increase efficiency and prioritize our focus areas, we would it would cut approximately 5,000 positions before the end of the next fiscal year, which ends in June. With the latest cuts, Microsoft said it has essentially completed those layoffs. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in May that it was mostly, but not entirely, done with the job eliminations.”
A Microsoft spokesman said the cuts will be broadly “spread across multiple businesses and locations,” and added that the company will continue to hire in priority areas. Microsoft had 91,005 employees worldwide at the end of September, according to The Seattle Times.
The most recent reductions are expected to bring to a close the first major round of layoffs in the company’s 34-year history.
“I can confirm we are eliminating 800 jobs today,” spokesman Lou Gellos said. “That is part of the larger program we announced in January.” The positions being eliminated from Wednesday will affect staff internationally and in a range of business units, he said, without providing further detail.
Altogether, around 6.3% of the company’s about 91,000 head count will have been eliminated after the program is completed, up from the 5.5% previously expected.
The additional dismissals, which come amid cuts in travel, entertainment and other expenses, suggest that Microsoft has yet to see significant signs of improvement. When they are completed, Microsoft will have eliminated 5,800 positions.
Microsoft last month reported that its net profit dropped 18% in the first quarter of its fiscal year to 3.57 billion dollars, or 40 cents per share, from 4.37 billion dollars, or 48 cents per share, a year ago.
Microsoft is not alone in calling-out large-scale job reduction programs, other technology bellwethers like International Business Machines Corp., Texas Instruments Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Intel Corp. have also cut thousands of jobs this year.