The Steve Ballmer Memo: Microsoft cuts 3000 jobs

Davey Winder
Wednesday, 06 May 2009 02:33

IT Industry - Strategy

Microsoft says hello to Windows 7 and goodbye to 3000 staff on the same day.

Tuesday May 5th was a big day for Microsoft. After all, it was the day when Windows 7 Release Code was finally made available for public download. Not just available, but free to use until 2010 for good measure.

It was also the day that Steve Ballmer, the Monkey Dancing Microsoft CEO, sent an email to employees which starts "This is difficult news to share" and goes on to announce a second phase of staff layoffs which is likely to hit some 3000 people.

The news of staff cuts as a cost-cutting move is not new, we were first made aware that some 5000 jobs would go, back in January. At that time, 1400 cuts were made with the remainder to follow by 2010.

The Ballmer memo signals the swinging of the really big axe, taking Microsoft close to the 5000 cuts target. That said, Ballmer does allow for the possibility of even more jobs going if the economy continues to suffer.

We do not know exactly how many jobs will go, although the grapevine is whispering 'at least 3000' quite confidently, and we do not know exactly where the axe will fall. It is expected to be split 50/50 between US and international offices however.

Here's what Ballmer had to say in that email:

"In January, in response to the global economic downturn, I announced our plan to adjust the company's cost structure through spending reductions and job eliminations. Today, we are implementing the second phase of this plan."

"This is difficult news to share. Because our success at Microsoft has always been the direct result of the talent, hard work, and commitment of our people, eliminating positions is hard. Today's action includes positions in the United States and in a number of countries around the world. In the U.S., affected employees will be notified directly by their managers today. In other countries, local leadership teams will provide more specific information about the impact to their organizations."

"With this announcement, we are mostly but not all done with the planned 5,000 job eliminations by June 2010. We are moving quickly to reach this target in response to consistent feedback from our people and business groups that it's important to make decisions and reduce uncertainty for employees as quickly as possible, and so that organizations can concentrate their efforts and resources on strategic objectives."

"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. For those of you directly affected by today's announcement, I want to thank you for your contribution to Microsoft and assure you that we will continue to provide support as we did during the previous job eliminations."

"And for everyone across the company, I want to reemphasize how much I appreciate the way you have pulled together to help the company respond to this difficult economic environment. There's no doubt that these are very challenging times. But together, we are making the right choices to ensure that we will continue to deliver great products and position ourselves for strong future growth and profitability."

"Thank you for your continued hard work, commitment, and focus."