Microsoft ‘to axe 15,000 jobs’
COMPUTER software giant Microsoft is preparing to make widespread job cuts for the first time in its 32-year history, it was claimed last night.
Up to 15,000 posts could be axed this month, although it is unclear how many British jobs could be affected.
The £160billion-valued company which has around 91,000 employees worldwide, is expected to shed between 10 and 17 per cent of its workforce. The firm, headed by Bill Gates, employs 1,500 workers at its UK offices in Reading and London.
The job losses are a further indication of the far-reaching implications of the global economic crisis.
So far, most redundancies have come in the financial, manufacturing and retail sector but there is growing evidence that technology industries are also being badly hit.
It is feared Microsoft could be about to announce profit warnings.