Microsoft Layoffs Confirmed

Earlier in this week we talked about the potential for layoffs in the Microsoft Corporation. At the time they were nothing but rumors based on a single tweet, but they seem to be true. For those of you who missed out on that earlier coverage here is an excerpt:

“Microsoft is beginning its newest round of layoffs and the technology giant is getting rid of no small amount of staff. The layoffs, which will be today, are coming primarily to the workers in the Central Marketing Group, as well as some of the other marketing groups in the company.  Though it is important to remember that at this point in time that all of the information is rumors.

Thus far the only official word about the layoffs has come from a tweet. In the Twitter feed of Commercial and Communications Sector Lead Maher Al-Khaiyat the following was posted, Microsoft to announce major layoffs today as a result of marketing org restructuring,” Currently, the folks over at Microsoft headquarters are not giving out any statements about the layoffs. So we do not know much about how many employees will be laid off or what exact positions are being cut from the company rosters.

If this round of layoffs is anything like the companies previous round these layoffs will not be small. Some of you may recall that about three years ago the company let go of about 5,000 jobs in order to make ends meet.

The company is expected to issue the pink slips in the near future, and they are being handed out to workers at the head office in Redmond, Washington. Now that the layoffs at this tech giant have been confirmed we have a specific statement from the company. The statement, which was oddly enough only sent to a technology site called Geek Wire (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2399719,00.asp), and this is what the company had to say about the job cuts, “We’re taking steps to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our marketing, and to strengthen career paths for marketers at Microsoft. Some of these changes involved the reduction of a small percentage of marketing positions, to better align our resources with our business needs and clarify roles across the marketing function.”

The jobs cuts are part of a larger restructuring effort in the company. That effort is being led by Microsoft’s chief marketing officer Chris Capossela. At the current moment we do not have a specific number of how many people will be out of a job the folks over at Geek Wire, the only ones with solid information at the current moment, are estimating that the job losses will be about 200 jobs.

As was mentioned earlier this is not the first job cuts, “Of course, there are not the first rumors to swirl around Microsoft about job losses. The company was rumored to be letting go of staff in 2010. Some of you may remember our earlier coverage but for those of you who did not catch it, here is an excerpt:

“While the company has not yet confirmed a round of layoffs, tech blogs are abuzz with news that Redmond, Washington-based software giant Microsoft is shedding jobs in its Central Marketing Group and Enterprise Partner Group. Microsoft-watchers are taking great interest in the job cuts as Microsoft laid off 5,000 employees last year. The latest round, however, does not appear to be nearly as severe — numbering in the hundreds rather than the thousands. Microsoft currently employees about 89,000 people worldwide. ”