Microsoft makes a U-turn by ESTHER FUNG [email protected] 05:55 AM May 12, 2009IN A U-turn from a stated philosophy of not resorting to layoffs in tough times, Microsoft has given out pink slips to some of its staff in Singapore.
The retrenchments took place last week and affected an undisclosed number here. They were part of a second wave of job cuts by the United States headquarters, which slashed 3,000 jobs worldwide last week.
During the first wave early this year, the firm cut 1,400 jobs - but Singapore was not affected at the time.
There may be more retrenchments here - although the Singapore office declined to comment on the matter - as Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer told staff in an email last week that the firm was “mostly but not all done” with redundancies.
Microsoft has been in Singapore since 1990. Its headcount here, as of June last year, was a total of 760 people, including employees of the regional headquarters and the Asia Pacific Operations Centre.
Yesterday, Ms Jessica Tan, managing director of Microsoft Singapore, explained why the axe finally fell here - in contrast to an earlier interview with Today where she pooh-poohed layoffs and said they would only hurt the trust between employee and company.
“At the time of the interview in November, job cuts were indeed not on the radar,” said Ms Tan, who is also a Member of Parliament.
“The economic conditions in Singapore and in the region have been hit harder than we were able to anticipate, especially in the last six months.”
She added: “In response to this significant decline, we had to look carefully at every aspect of our business, and we are responding to make necessary adjustments to prepare the company to weather the storm.”
Ms Tan cited market data that Singapore would see a decline in PC shipments at 6.4 per cent and a decline of 6.1 per cent in software spending next year.
The decision to cut jobs “was a very difficult one”, said Ms Tan in her email response. “I still feel very strongly about the importance of continuing to invest in our people, reward performance and improve our competitive position in the market.”
Microsoft said it gave the retrenched workers one month’s notice, “competitive severance packages”, and an outplacement programme to help them find new jobs. The firm declined to provide details.
The retrenchments took place last week and affected an undisclosed number here. They were part of a second wave of job cuts by the United States headquarters, which slashed 3,000 jobs worldwide last week.
During the first wave early this year, the firm cut 1,400 jobs - but Singapore was not affected at the time.
There may be more retrenchments here - although the Singapore office declined to comment on the matter - as Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer told staff in an email last week that the firm was “mostly but not all done” with redundancies.
Microsoft has been in Singapore since 1990. Its headcount here, as of June last year, was a total of 760 people, including employees of the regional headquarters and the Asia Pacific Operations Centre.
Yesterday, Ms Jessica Tan, managing director of Microsoft Singapore, explained why the axe finally fell here - in contrast to an earlier interview with Today where she pooh-poohed layoffs and said they would only hurt the trust between employee and company.
“At the time of the interview in November, job cuts were indeed not on the radar,” said Ms Tan, who is also a Member of Parliament.
“The economic conditions in Singapore and in the region have been hit harder than we were able to anticipate, especially in the last six months.”
She added: “In response to this significant decline, we had to look carefully at every aspect of our business, and we are responding to make necessary adjustments to prepare the company to weather the storm.”
Ms Tan cited market data that Singapore would see a decline in PC shipments at 6.4 per cent and a decline of 6.1 per cent in software spending next year.
The decision to cut jobs “was a very difficult one”, said Ms Tan in her email response. “I still feel very strongly about the importance of continuing to invest in our people, reward performance and improve our competitive position in the market.”
Microsoft said it gave the retrenched workers one month’s notice, “competitive severance packages”, and an outplacement programme to help them find new jobs. The firm declined to provide details.
