Microsoft's employment numbers for its recently completed fiscal year demonstrate the net effect of the initial wave of cutbacks made by the company. Bottom line: Worldwide, Microsoft cut its direct workforce by 3,092 jobs -- or 3.2 percent -- between Dec. 31 and June 30.
For the year as a whole, however, the company still ended fiscal 2009 with more employees than it had at the end of the previous year, finishing fiscal 2009 with 92,736 direct employees on the books, compared with 91,259 at the end of fiscal 2008. That's because the company was hiring steadily throughout the first half of the fiscal year, and the cuts in the second half didn't totally negate that growth.
That translates into an annual growth rate of less than 2 percent -- in contrast with Microsoft's 16 percent growth in fiscal 2008.
The latest numbers reflect the effect of the layoffs announced by the company in January, but subsequent layoffs, announced May 5, weren't technically reflected on Microsoft's books until July 4, after the June 30 reporting date. That means we could see the number decline further in future employment reports from the company, even though mass layoffs appear to have ended for now.
The company announced in January that it would eliminate as many as 5,000 jobs in some parts of the company over an 18-month period, although it noted at the time that it would simultaneously hire about 2,000 to 3,000 people in other areas that better matched its strategy, implying a net reduction of 2,000 to 3,000 jobs.
In May, the company said it was "mostly but not all done with the planned 5,000 job eliminations." Microsoft chief financial officer Chris Liddell said last week that the company saved $750 million in operating expenses in its fiscal fourth quarter, compared with the previous quarter. However, that wasn't enough to keep the company from missing Wall Street's earnings expectations.
The direct job numbers don't include contractors and others who work for the company through third-party employment agencies.
Update, 3 p.m.: In response to our inquiry, Microsoft also provided details of its employment in the Seattle region. The numbers show that the company has kept the size of its workforce in the region relatively steady over the past six months -- cushioning the blow of the cuts with new hires. Direct employment in the region was 41,000 at the end of June, compared with 41,555 at the end of January.
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