Via the NYT: Microsoft Plans to Cut 5,000 Jobs
Microsoft stunned its investors on Thursday, announcing the first broad layoffs in its history and offering a pessimistic forecast for the second half of its fiscal year.
[...]
Microsoft rushed out the news Thursday morning that it will lay off up to 5,000 of its 94,000 employees over the next 18 months, including 1,400 people Thursday. The layoffs span across research, sales, finance and technology roles, the company said.
I can make no intelligent comment in terms of the technical economic significance of this announcement. However, from the psychological/political sense, big layoffs from big, high-profile companies have a big impact on public perception of the economy. Folks who might not understand/would be prone to ignore issues of financial assets and liquidity perk up when behemonths like Microsoft start having problems.
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January 22nd, 2024 at 2:09 pm
I would say that it shows that (a) Vista is a failure; no company wanted it even before the melt-down, and (b) that the melt-down ensures that there’ll be minimal updgrading in any MS product for a year or two (or three).
MS is now in a position where it’ll have to offer value for upgrading to new products, and that’ll be a hard change.
January 22nd, 2024 at 5:22 pm
I’d say it has little to do with Vista. The bottom line is that new computer sales and new software sales have taken it on the chin in this downturn. Just a few days ago, Intel reported its worst quarter in over twenty years - and Intel chip sales are often accompanied with a MS Windows sale.
That’s not to say Vista doesn’t have serious problems… but since everyone across the IT sector is suffering, blaming Vista for Microsofts troubles seems like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
January 23rd, 2024 at 5:09 pm
Probably. But I’d figure that the one large software company to be able to keep going would be MS.
Then again, it might be that MS just got bloated in better times.