Microsoft layoffs november 2008

We predict that sooner or later the financial fraud will become more widely seen. Permalink Send this to a friend.

Pages that cross-reference this one, if any exist, are listed below or will be listed below over time. Search Techrights. Site Wiki : You can improve this site by helping the extension of the site's content. I hope you are prepared and can move on. Others are. Msft Layoffs Does Msft have frequent layoff? Is it a good option to join Msft I have heard they have a lot of internal politics. Microsoft Massive Layoffs If you are a man you're pretty much at high risk. Microsoft layoffs in Redmond?

Heard about potential microsoft layoffs in Redmond. Layoffs at MSFT today? Heard from a former colleague that MSFT had a sizable layoff today; unfortunately didn't hear any specifics but know he is in ATX and was in their Azure business. My understanding was that they were going to "double down" on cloud and hiring in FY Layoffs at msft How common are they? If msft is a rest and vest paradise with devs having insanely good wlb that generally implies orgs doesnt have a lot of work to get done.

Atleast at amzn ur certain of no lay offs s. Layoff at Microsoft Looks like there have been layoff at Microsoft Redmond yesterday in gaming,webxt. More on PM side. Satya is focusing on cutting the fat and getting rid of unnecessary overhead that slows down innovation. Net positive for the company and stock value, but the country.

Microsoft layoffs What's the real deal peeps. I have friends. Hope they're ok. Microsoft yearly layoff exposed Does Microsoft layoff yearly?

Do they have pip quota like amazon. Microsoft layoff and impacted levels Hear a rumours on Microsoft and my spouse recently joined as L62 few months back from amazon 1. Want to check Ms has any PIP or dev list like amazon which is very random 2.

Only senior levels impacted or across all levels 3. Do they give time to search internally , and how long do impacted folks h. Microsoft layoffs Seems like Microsoft laid off another employees today. I'm hiring? PMs, Devs, marketers. But there will be cost-cutting measures across the board which means fewer free food and morale events.

You are absolutely right. And I work at Zune. The fact is, J Allard's departure removed any validity our company may have had as a visionary company. I mean, jeez, even our inventor gave up on us. And now we're stuck in the morass of bean- and head-counting.

Until we listen to the right voices, we're dead. True, all this Zune 30 stuff most likely had its origins two years ago, but we obviously didn't care enough then either. The technicians at Zune do not give one good goddamn about the brand's validity in the marketplace. They care about a paycheck. And there are far more people like them at Zune, than people who realize how much this brand is capable of achieving.

Zune has its true believers, and we're sick and tired of the carpetbaggers who throw their hands up and concede. This is totally emblematic of our failures so far. Everybody else in Microsoft hates Zune. We change that hatred by not being a typical Microsoft company. But we don't trust our visionaries, because the main visionary we had doesn't work here anymore. I think you're right. Zune can be successful as long as everybody's down with the vision.

We have a great idea. But how the hell are we going to succeed in that idea, or that vision, when we can't even see two years into the future when a light-year mishap may have been a problem?

If Zune wants to play with the big boys, they need to recognize just what market they're in. It's a market that can ill afford to be down even for a day. The cynicism of everyday Zune employees is astounding. This wasn't what they bargained for. Please trust some of us in Zune. The New Year's Eve glitch absolutely repulsed those of us who weren't directly responsible for it. We're really trying to change the culture here at Zune. And we're frustrated and angry that we keep being shot down, or rebuffed, or beaten down by the Microsoft Way.

Some of us can see who we can really be, and at some point one of us is going to have to take that vision by the horns and make it possible. But it's hard, man. It's hard seeing this stuff keep happening. And I for one can't justify keeping an eye open for some other opportunity -- especially in a time when such opportunties are really, really hard to come by. The Microsoft layoff rumors are spreading like wild fire now panicking even people in UK. I hope the MS management wakes up from its slumber and acknowledges or denies the rumors.

Microsoft Corporation is headed for swingeing layoffs in mid-January and has called for a government bailout in the face of the credit crunch.

In fact, they didn't start buying it in because they were expecting this even then. A subsidy to buy good, honest American computer operating systems is essential to the health of the economy, or my part of it anyway. It's impossible to keep track of! Anyway, you're just another Twitter sockpuppet. Or Mini-Microsoft. Additional bailouts have been hooked on the bill as riders for HD-DVD, eight-track cartridge manufacture, 78rpm gramophones and Babbage analytical engine gear manufacturers.

Government advisors have said they will only bail the company out with a change in top management. To appear here later today. Obviously, you are not working in Windows Win7 works great on netbooks. There is plenty of netbooks various makes in COSD and they run Windows 7 flawlessly -- all drivers are inbox.

You're talking out of your ass. The bug was in the code that Microsoft didn't even write, so no one is "responsible for it". It was in Freescale's driver for system clock. Regarding Zune and your claim he is your inventor, then he should have left, as he seems to have missed more than one opportunity to slam-dunk Apple and iPod and PS3 and Wii with a group of truly visionary products, assuming he had the power there to offer those inventions.

A true visionary would have created a cadre of products that are unlike anything the market has yet seen, created must have devices that would make marketing's job a breeze, and would have delivered Microsoft to no 1 status in the player and gaming markets.

Not to mention, the missed opportunities for other as yet non-existent devices more in keeping with a true visionary. You seem to be looking for a direction in the wrong place.

I was on a "reduced" team recently, found a job immediately. Meanwhile the hard workers who did their jobs well and achieved or where stretching into the top 20 actually LOST their jobs. They are ALL back as contractors now making more cash Given that, and a string of second rate products in areas that aren't monopolies with no road but one filled with potholes and defects to the future Zune, WinMo, etc Yes I'll be taking my top reviews elsewhere.

Microsoft can get mini with the bottom 10, they seem to believe that's the way to go. I loved Microsoft when I started a decade ago, but they have lost their way. Even if a manager tried something like this, the other managers in the calibration meeting would call him or her on it.

If a person is "being pushed down", it's because they aren't getting their work done, or they have a personality issue. People in Redmond shouldn't be nearly as worried as those in regional offices whose value is tenuous at best. I think Zune is extremely important for us. Most people here believe Zune is the iPod, but Zune is actually an entertainment service, which happens to have a device. Microsoft is in big trouble right now.

Looking at the developers on my team I am a dev on office , 9 out of 10 have macs except for me , about 8 have iPhones except for me , and everyone has Zunes. I hate to break the news, but even Microsoft developers do not like Vista or mobile and love their macs. Zune is the one Microsoft product all these people us. Everyone uses Google. Zune does need a big vision, its our hope of being cool again. And Windows 7, God we need Windows 7.

Things don't look good for Microsoft right now, don't knock Zune, its going to help us survive, and if it can become the entertainment service I hear it will, it will help win back people who are leaving us in droves and going to the Mac store As many of you want to Axe Zune, you may as well as axe all of Microsoft, our customers are going to go with what is cool and fun and gives them what they want.

And look at developers on any team, they don't want windows, live search, and mobile, but they do love their Zunes. Actually rumours are correct but it would not happen on Jan 15 but soon after that. Being indirectly associated with the team who was working on this plan with Chris Laidell. Though I am not sure what is the current status of this proposal plan but here was the proposal when I went on vacation: Microsoft Support Organization: Huge money is being spent in microsoft support organization i.

This should happen pretty fast. BTW - This layer is very expansive for Microsoft because of the bonus associated with it. There are few more groups like Window Live office, meeting etc.

But this will not happen in a single day and I don't know how this got leaked but this will not be named as "layoffs". Basically this will be named as adjustments for optimization.

My girlfriend and I both work at MS. Two weeks ago she was told by her manager to begin cross-training a CSG in every aspect of her job by January 15th. When asked why the urgency or the 15th, she was not given an answer. After reading these posts, I think we now know exactly why. As for me, my entire project has been scrapped although it has not been made public yet , all CSGs let go, and FTEs are scrambling to find work on other teams.

Oh boy isn't it true: God knows the truth, but waits. MS is NOT in a bubble. We are not "too big to fail". The economy this year, well, we could be looking at a Depression unlike anything we have ever seen. Customers DO matter to MS because these are the ones who buy our products..

These are hard times ahead and they are not under Microsoft's control. All of us are going to be hurting. We have felt that can throw away the "bad" parts of the chicken.. Who cared? That attitude will change. If anything, Microsoft will have to relearn how to create value and to hire people of value.

If it doesn't and cannot re-learn this skill it WILL fail. We, MS employees are more likely to succeed in this climate than MS is. I have more faith in that. Whether you are layed off or not, you have valuable skills in some shape or form We need commitment and determination and focus. We need people who are willing to do the dirty work. I have a manager right now that reamed me for being too detailed and focused on "just coding" I am a dev, the manager is a title that I don't even understand.

I will have the last laugh anyway. Whether or not these rumors are true, the impact on employee morale and confidence is definitely there to stay.

For example, I could see my response to the first work emails this year being influenced by the possibility of an imminent layoff. Also, I can see the rumor affecting my willingness to take risks. After all, risk taking for the greater company good can lead to short term conflict - with management, colleagues, the field - increasing chances of being considered a candidate for a layoff if and when it happens.

Consider what happens come Jan 15th - If there are major layoffs, then the company goes through the expected cycle of lowered morale, etc. And the fear of further layoffs will influence each employee directly. If there are minor layoffs, then the speculations of further layoffs will take off.

If there are no layoffs, there will be speculations of the layoffs being deferred for some reason or the other. The only thing that can even partially address the impact on morale is an official statement from management, one way or another.

Even then, there will be skepticism, since the company can always go back on its statement - in fact, there have been companywide statements by management in the past that there will never be any layoffs at Microsoft - if I remember right, one such was by SteveB at a company meeting in the early s. So, any layoff at all would be contradicting a past stance, anyway. However, the company coming out with as concrete an official statement as possible at least internally is the best they can do to minimize the growing impact of these rumors on employee morale.

The earlier and more concrete, the better. They care about a paycheck The problem you described above exists in every team in Microsoft not just Zune. There are a lot of people who are just passengers in a team majority PMs, Architects, Partners, multiple GMs who are never seen in office after PM.

This creates an angst between the low level devs who are made to work tirelessly and the higher ups and gets reflected in the employee morale. Things were not like thins in when there were fewer "passengers", fewer products and good morale. Being indirectly associated with the team who was working on this plan with Chris Laidell I call bull on this one. First it is Chris Liddell and not Chris Laidell. If you were working so closely with him you would have known to spell the name correctly.

Second there wouldn't have been a lot of people working with Chris on this one. I assume you wouldnt be stupid enough to go public on this one without fearing that it might be possible to identify you.

Whether or not you agree with Allard leaving, or his "vision," you referring to the apparent Zune employee who brought this up in the first place need to get out of introspective mode and start figuring out how to make the brand work. Companies have to be able to figure out how to survive the loss of a key member and Zune's no exception. I personally haven't noticed a huge difference in my particular job or temperament since his or anybody else's departure.

We're professionals, dude. Or ma'am. No comment on any of the other stuff. Looks like Microsoft's share is going down across the board. But they were correct that increasing shareholder value is the primary task with which management and the board are charged.

Legally so, I should add. Some read that as customers, employees, etc. Nothing is further from the truth. They're critical to successfully completing that objective. But don't confuse the means with the ends. The company has failed in its primary end goal for more than ten years.

And it is now facing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. It doesn't have an obligation to maintain current employment levels through that. Few peers are doing so, and many would argue that MS was among the most bloated going in. Nor does it have some obligation to protect the Northwest's economy. It does however have a legal obligation to make decisions which are in the best long term interests of it shareholders, its poor track record to date notwithstanding. And given that this downturn is likely to be anything but temporary, and the impact on MS's financials substantial and ongoing, it would be irresponsible of the management team not to at least consider layoffs, even if you take the minority view that the company is right-sized and efficient currently.

The good news if you're an employee, and the bad news if you're a paying shareholder, is that MS is more likely than most to make the least possible cuts, regardless of impact to earnings and the stock. Which is why it will likely emerge from this downturn weaker not stronger, just as it did in Is there a point to this comment? Do you work at Microsoft? What on earth do you do? I call bullshit. Last I checked, it's not called "Feescale Zune". Customer's could give a crap if it was a driver written by a third party or not.

Customer's bought a Microsoft product and had a crappy experience. And we still wonder why we have a reputation for arrogance. FUD is generally a strategic attempt to influence public perception by disseminating negative information designed to undermine the credibility of their beliefs. An individual firm, for example, might use FUD to invite unfavorable opinions and speculation about a competitor's product; to increase the general estimation of switching costs among current customers; or to maintain leverage over a current business partner who could potentially become a rival.

FUD techniques may be crude and simple. Alternatively they may be very subtle, employing an indirect approach. The term originated to describe disinformation tactics in the computer hardware industry and has since been used more broadly. That Fudzilla article is pretty much BS, nothing more than self promotion for that web site.

I am hearing that there will some layoff but it's not the big number that's been bantered about. The guy who claimed there is no layoff sounds a lot like my group leader. He's an overpaid idiot and part of the problem and should be RIF'ed. He wouldn't know a layoff is happening even if there is one. If you incorporate code from external party into your product it is your responsibility to review and test it.

You are responsible for what you ship and there really are no excuses. In these circumstances it would be more responsible to just own up to the mistake.

That's the price range a lot of our software needs to be in. Don't make consumers have to read a lot of mumbo jumbo technical terms online to figure out the differences in the products. Drop it to two, with very obvious differences.

I like Zune. I think they did some innovative stuff, and didn't get enough credit for it. But after a few years, they still have a teeny tiny portion of market share. How much longer do we need to wait? Ok, now I think Zune sucks. This is one of the big problems with your ad campaigns too. You guys think you are cooler than everyone else.

You're not. The "Microsoft Way" is what's pulling in all of the money, allowing you to lose large sums of cash yet still keep people employed at least until mid-January.

You guys can't even get a Windows Mobile client shipped. Haven't you heard of the phrase "better together"? If and when such layoffs occur, I hope it is done very very carefully. The genius of J is apparent. We are in college because of Zune. All you really need to know about fudzilla is that the guy who runs it, Faud Abazovic, used to work for inquirer. A Manager can write anything in your review and judge you any which way. Doesn't matter how good you are or what you did.

Most of the other managers are trying to get their people stacked ranked higher - so they are all too happy with one less competition. I have been around a while and have seen it happen often enough.

But to answer your comment on brand, you are right. Already, without anything new, there is plenty to work with to make Zune more successful, and better marketing of the brand would help, but even there, Microsoft seems to have a difficult time selecting successful add campaigns. While you can only sell so many Chevy Novas, the opportunity for success here is quite unlimited, new Zune products or not.

IE is too slow. Being a Microsoft employee, I really really want to use IE however keep switching to Chrome as the browsing experience is way better. Nothing is better with Windows Mobile. Frankly I like my Zune, but it was a ship gift, I would have never purchased it myself. The hardware and the software on the device is quite nice.

The PC Software they wrote is crap though, I've recently spent a half an hour over a bad connection trying to agree to a "terms of service", again, just so I could spend money.

This particular one is the HTC Touch. It crashes regularly, works when it wants to, and generally behaves badly. The only reason I don't have an IPhone is because it doesn't work on my preferred networks.

Much of the work there is actually done by contract staff CSG for the person who asked while the FTE worry themselves with the worst implementation of the stack rank at Microsoft.

If I could have one wish for the new year, it would be Microsoft would terminate WinMo once and for all. The product is a clear looser. Well probably not they are both CSG. We aren't there yet with Zune -- if you've been on a campus lately you'd see that iPods and iPhones have an iron grip on that demographic. That would explain this. As someone that worked in WinMo for 8 months, this assessment is spot on.

The minute I arrived I knew I'd made a bad decision and worked to get out as fast as I could. The product is too dependent on mobile operators and OEM's. It's not written for the end user in mind; it's written so as to please the most OEM's and operators. Add to that, they can't decide if they want to be a floor wax, or a dessert topping. The field tries to "sell" it into enterprises, but the product doesn't care about them. They hallucinate that they can soon catch the iPhone.

Hell, WinMo7 won't even be on par with iPhone 1. This is another product with a branding problem. As a consumer, when I walk into flll mobile operator store front here , I know a Blackberry when I see it.

I know a Nokia when I see it. Hell, it could be any of those devices, but I have no idea. Nor do I know why I would want one. Thus, consumers take the Blackberry or iPhone. They know what they are getting. The best thing they could do it pick a device and stick with it. Or put a radio stack in the Zune. Management philosophy is basically a cross between "Lord of the Flies" and "Arrested Development" , if that's possible. Though I am not sure what is the current status of this proposal plan but here was the proposal when I went on vacation: [ Hopelessly hilarious.

What if they reported sometime ago to a bad manager? But I stayed on since I really liked the project and my work. Now I don't even remember how many years ago I had less than 4. Didn't office get Zunes as Christmas or was it ship gifts a year or so back? Why would the office team get Zunes? Actually, why do they get a Christmas gift at all? That isn't common in other teams. I don't think it's possible for the windows division to have fewer morale events.

But I'm glad this means that other teams won't be taking multi-day trips to Canada, or having all-day offsite meetings at the Salish Lodge. Or ma'am Not a member of the Zune team but here is my opinion on getting the brand work. At least, a few principles on how to execute toward that goal.

Yes, that and only that should be the ultimate goal. Even more, ignore completely what Apple does. Try to find your own soul. Even if that means a few tears now and then. People send comments good or bad on your product because they ultimately care about it. Oh sure. Because you and your employer painstakingly inspected every single physical object and piece of software that you use in your workplace to ensure that they meets all requirements perfectly. It was also a topic discussed in the last town hall.

I think the SLT is useless. Even if I thought they provided value, I still wouldn't have expected an email from them with more info. What is the "dial business"?

What is "pre-corrigan"? Hiring bar was pretty low for the last few years. Since all the orgs, hiring managers would hire independently there were lots of corruptions. At certain cases favors from hiring manager played crucial role than technical expertise.

Lots of unqualified people were hired way above their level. Search is one such organization. Reviews are written for your future managers wow - that was a very HR-ish statement - sorry. Your calibration should NOT be based on what you write in your review, it should be based on a year's worth of work that both you and your manager are aware of accomplishing.

You're kidding, right? Operative term: "should". Case in point: Although my manager saw report after report after report after report listing me as responsible for project X throughout the year, she still claimed in writing at review time that I had NOT in fact been responsible for project X based on a faulty summary SHE had made of my accomplishments. Ideally, managers "should" use the employee's self-evaluation as a verification of their understanding of what the employee has achieved.

And heya, managers, if an employee says something on their self-eval that you think is inaccurate, save yourself embarrassment by discussing it with them and getting the story straight BEFORE you question their accuracy in the manager comments section of the review.

Orgs are always performing stack ranks with a regular cadence. This isn't something to worry about. Steve - Land Rover -- new ford focus :.

The big cheeses have confirmed, once again, that we employeefolk are indeed 'at-will' employees. So much for the notion that " And the SLT is telling us that loyalty is expected for about 8 hours a day, because that's all we're being paid for. After years and years of blogging, senior management is still as dumb as ever and the company is still a rocket ship accelerating towards the ground.

You're obviously a talented person and it's time to pull the rip cord for your own sanity. I'm glad you jumped on board with the rest of the human race and bought an iPhone. Now you just have to finish the job and quit.

We're all waiting for you on the outside. Do tell. During the Give campaign I received at least a dozen reminders from people at various levels of middle management in the district, region or US level, all with some variation of manager, general manager, or VP in their title.

It really struck me as our consultants are struggling to find engagements to stay busy and avoid the axe or get dumped into that bottom bucket during annaul review because they weren't utilized that we have entirely too much management, and it is focused on the wrong priorities. Best line in Don Dodge's blog entry: My email at Microsoft will go dark in a day or two, so my new contact is DonaldDodge gmail.

Brought a huge grin to my face! I'm one of the Got a call on my cell to inform me of this job eliminated because they were consolidating locations and was not about job performance. Got to my hotel room and found my network access was already cut off. Exciting times. I fear for the customers of what had been my product for all of these 14 years. Senior management is as rich as ever and ready to fail-upward. Roz Ho Corporate Vice President, Premium Mobile Experiences Exclusive: Pink Danger leaks from Microsoft's Windows Phone [Page 3] "She was also responsible for the "Pink" codename, which has a lamer backstory than anyone has guessed: she was listening to a song by Pink the singer when she decided she was just the person to go one-up the Sidekick.

I heard second-hand that a consulting firm was brought in to direct how this round of layoffs went down. It was per their instructions that there was no 6AM e-mail this time around, less internal communication, and etc. It is highly profitable on a per-customer basis. From to around or so we had millions of paying customers creating a billion dollar business for Microsoft. For many years it was the sole moneymaker of MSN. However, with the rise of broadband the narrow-band market naturally saw its sunset.

The product still exists interestingly enough. There are are still a good number of people who either refuse to use broadband or live in an area where they have no other choice. I worked on the team for about half of my career at Microsoft. Because of the reduced customer base the team was redirected to other parts of the company. It may have been on the plate but wasn't touched until they left for voice. That genius project was implemented by Burroughs.

In the end they didn't even ship it. Corrigan was the only GM who actually knew how to run the business and give people features that they wanted.

Before Corrigan we had TedK. Of course after two years people canceled and we lost all that money! He then forced us to implement a Qwest broadband piece-of-crap that no customers wanted the exact same DSL solution Qwest was offering but for more money than Qwest!

Our support costs went through the roof. Any profitability went away. People were very happy when TedK moved over to Sever and Tools. Corrigan got our engineering practices back in line, reduced support cost, and improved customer sat numbers. Not sure what beef people have against him. Besides, he left IA almost five years ago.

Are you mad you got a 3. Super interesting to flashback a decade or so ago Who is Don Dodge and why is he so important? Heard many heads rolled in CSD. Good choice. These guys have not shipped anything - modeling,. TerryM does wave his iPhone around as a goad to the WM7 org. Since most of use iPhones, it's not that effective. Question: Does anyone know how to contact Mich Mathews? Seeking to send her info regarding a potemtial Win 7 campaign. However, having extreme difficulty in getting directed to the correct contact info.

The management has taken a very productive communication approach with this layoff round. There will be no internal announcement. If you want to be sure you're safe, just wait for a few days.

If you haven't received anything from HR by that time, then most probably you're OK So, should you worry about the layoffs? No, absolutely not! Relax and continue working. If HR wants to tell you something, they'll send you a meeting request, until that time this is not an issue for you. What, you're still worried? OK, I'll have HR take care of you I'm just waiting for the losers working on the next MS flop, Project Natal, to be let go in the next round I believe it peaked at 95K including 2K from Razorfish.

I believe it peaked at 95K including 2K from Razorfish so the number of people fired through performance management is at least 2K? To clarify about the MSL layoffs My group - some of the people affected may have been because of the O'Reilly deal, but NONE of the people that got laid off in my larger group had anything to do with that.

My team keeps getting smaller in the states and larger and larger in China, in more and more cases, only the lead is in Redmond. They will only be doing dev and test support work - no original work. Not to personally knock the people that I have met that have come from China regularly, they are quite nice and eager, but to knock Microsoft for having really become a two-faced standard giant corporation that says one thing and does another. I could not tell if he was just testing his new iPhone.

Even if is the 3rd round of layoffs, this is still a pretty exceptional event affecting MS families worldwide, plus there is a "good story" to be told to the remaining employees: the layoff rounds are complete. Now go and focus on your job and stop looking around wondering if you are next. But Ballmer, of course, is missing this opportunity to show or pretend he cares and to focus the remaining work force on the road ahead. Another opportunity missed. Another example of terrible leadership.

How bad can he get? Go on Steve, there's no much runway left for complete incompetency, you are almost there!

The stock is up 2. As one of those let go in January, I wish each of the in this round the best of luck in finding work in this tough economy. There is life after Microsoft. Some go back into the company. Some become itinerant workers, at MS or elsewhere. Some go to competitors and with renewed fervor try to beat Microsoft's brains in. Some go to other jobs, other professions. Some get bitter, and some get on with it.

Mostly, Microsoft hired good people, and most of the are in that bucket. So don't get bitter, don't get down on yourself.

Be a survivor. Get on with it. Landing a new gig may take a while. If you can afford it, take some time to decompress. And in the immortal words of Miracle Max, remember: "There's a big difference between mostly dead, and all dead. Now, mostly dead: he's slightly alive. Now have fun storming the castle. There is a fair amount of deadwood in L3 engineering and below but a lot of talented people as well.

To the people who complain that stack ranking is done before you even turn in yopur self assessment: you do not understand the true nature of the review. It is akin to the self-critiques people had to write in the old communist regimes.

The goal is to get you to write things about yourself that'll later be used against you if necessary. And you won't have a leg to stand on since those are YOUR words. Now, like any tool the review can be subverted to achieve goals other than the one its creators had in mind.