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A few mob have asked me about a account on an secluded tech intelligence site, Fudzilla, that purports to confirm to the degree that occurrence the rumors of a greater Microsoft layoff coming next month. I’ll say that I am skeptical of the story because: the author does not mention a sole source for the information, anonymous or otherwise; I’ve not seen the site break news of this magnitude before (doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened); the name Fudzilla makes me remember of fear, uncertainty and doubt.

Still, there is a lot of chatter going on about cost cuts at Microsoft and whether they will include layoffs or layoffs disguised to the degree that something else. Microsoft is making no official comment on any of this — for the reason that is its practice — and I doubt they will until they’re ready to find a formal announcement.

I can report that I’ve heard from a handful of contractors whose contracts at Microsoft were abruptly cut short.

These people have all asked not to be named, for fear of jeopardizing their chances for future employment by Microsoft and the vendors that contract the company by contract workers.

One man provided an e-mail from earlier in December in which managers at the MSN Homepages Team were informed that all of their contract personnel were being terminated today. The firmness is “due to bag cuts,” the e-mail reads.

My source said this single cut impacted about 180 contractors and vendors.

This is only the same team within a gigantic company, so I hesitate to extrapolate the MSN Homepages actual observation to other regions of Microsoft. But clearly, the company is looking for places to trim and contractors — by their world of matter temporary — are easier to let get along with you than full-timers. This is no surprise being of the kind which Microsoft said at its last quarterly interview call that it would make each effort to adjust costs in light of the global relating to housekeeping downturn.

Meanwhile, the canvassing at Mini-Microsoft, which first floated the idea of a major cut coming Jan. 15, turned more skeptical this week. Mini elevated a series of comments suggesting there will not subsist layoffs in January. Other comments hint a major corporate reorganization that will ultimately cut or consolidate some groups and projects. Mini himself seems to have changed his tune:

“So do I think anything is going to happen January 15th? Well, it is behind CES (we certainly don’t want any bad news before that - though look carefully at the groups there and not in that place) and under the jurisdiction quarterly results (no hurtful surprises delivered with results - check). But back the rather alarming attention the previous rumor-driven blaze abroad got, even if something was going to happen January 15th I’d completely expect that’s off the table at this time. Sorry, Oppenheimer & Co.”


Original text: http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/techtracks/2008/12/31/more_speculation_on_microsoft_layoffs_contractor_c.html