12.28.08

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Brokerage Firm Asks Microsoft to Fire Over 9,000 Employees

Posted in Finance, Microsoft at 4:26 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

“Today many people are switching to free software for purely practical reasons. That is good, as far as it goes, but that isn’t all we need to do! Attracting users to free software is not the whole job, just the first step.”

–Richard Stallman

THERE IS NOTHING joyful about layoffs, but Microsoft caused so many companies to lay people off, usually by committing crimes, for which they paid relatively minuscule fines. Therefore we feel comfortable enough to show that Microsoft will likely sip its own poison of endless greed while it approaches debt (assuming it’s not already in it [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]). From the Financial Express:

New York: The world’s top software firm Microsoft has been asked to cut its workforce by 10 per cent, or about 9,100 employees, to tell the market that profits are more important than revenue growth in difficult times.

Brokerage firm Oppenheimer & Co’s analyst Brad Reback has said in a report on Microsoft that such layoff exercise “would be a healthy move for the company.”

For a company that “savors” the destruction of other companies — to borrow the words of James Plamondon — this might not be sob story. There is always cheaper labour (Abramoff Visas) and government connections to serve as a last resort. █

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9 Comments

pcolon said,

December 28, 2008 at 5:57 pm

Here’s one way the Gates ‘philanthropic’ foundation can help out the company it has been leeching from: instead of investing in oil, energy, media outlets, lobbying, etc. Take those funds and invest it where they made thier money from.

10% cut from mid-execs, 25% from upper execs and no exec bonuses. If you’re not making revenue why the need for bonuses.
Roy Schestowitz said,

December 28, 2008 at 6:05 pm

Many of the top executives have left over the past year or two. It’s rather obvious why.
pcolon said,

December 28, 2008 at 6:18 pm

The majority of corporations, in downsizing, eliminate the actual wokers and not the leechers or ‘wordsmithers’. Then they wonder why their next year is worse. That’s what happens when the productive employees are gone and the ‘fat’ stays in place.

Earlier, last year, we had downsizing; now our group, which is down to 5 from 17, have 9 equal ranking managers giving us projects all at the same time. Mostly meetings and very little time for implementation.
pcolon said,

December 28, 2008 at 6:20 pm

woker->workers
G. Michaels said,

December 28, 2008 at 6:24 pm

Many of the top executives have left

Many? As in how many, as a proportion of the total number of executives at a certain level? Can you clarify?

Or is this the same kind of desperate exaggeration you enjoy so much (and employ so cleverly) where a subsidiary of a subsidiary lets go 17 employees and you start posting LAYOFFS AT MICROSOFT HAHAHA every other day?

It’s rather obvious why.

Is it? Maybe in my old age I’m starting to lose the ability to see the obvious, can you point it out for me? Kind thanks.

Note: writer of this comment adds absolutely nothing but stalking and personal attacks against readers, as documented here.
Roy Schestowitz said,

December 28, 2008 at 6:27 pm

pcolon,

That’s what happens when companies — like countries — are run by a set or “responsible adults” (or “elites”) for their selfish benefit.
twitter said,

December 29, 2008 at 1:54 pm

I’m sure, G., that you hope that M$ axes people in PR rather than technical people. I don’t think it will mater either way. The company is going to tank this year.
Roy Schestowitz said,

December 29, 2008 at 2:12 pm

To be fair, many companies will. Not all of them. Red Hat and Oracle, for instance, seem to be doing quite all right. Certain industries see a rise in business due to this situation. For example, a friend of mine from the gym says that his parents, who work in the rail station, are understaffed due to higher demand and another friend who works in the casino says that business skyrocketed.
WHAT!?!? said,

May 19, 2009 at 6:16 pm

9000!?!?!?