By all accounts, a few weeks after launching the first wide-scale layoffs in the company's history, Microsoft Corp. is admitting that they managed to screw up a key part of their austerity plan.
It seems as if the company is asking some recently laid-off employees for a portion of their severance back. Apparently an administrative glitch of some sort caused the software maker to overpay.
No one is admitting to how many of the 1,400 workers laid off in January were actually overpaid nor has the amount of overpayment been revealed.
Microsoft is asking those former employees affected, to return the excess dollars via cheque or money order within two weeks.
As might be expected, Microsoft shares sank $ 0.54 on Monday to US$ 17.46. From a PR standpoint alone, unless the amounts are truly ridiculous, you’d think that Microsoft might have considered taking the high road and absorbing the fiscal hit on this one. I suspect that the value of their shares that day would not have fallen 3%.
Source: AP 02/23/09
2 comments:
Wonder if it was a software glitch.
DJW
Rumours abound...!
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