Microsoft Terminates Up to 5,000 Jobs

Despite a slight revenue increase over the same Q2 period in 2007, the weak PC market is taking its toll on Microsoft, leading the company to lay off up to 5,000 employees, including 1,400 effective immediately. The cuts will affect R&D, marketing, sales, finance, legal, HR and IT and will play out over the next 18 months. Microsoft saw client revenue go down by 8 percent from the second quarter in 2007 to the same period last year  “as a result of PC market weakness and a continued shift to lower priced netbooks,” the earnings report says. On the bright side, Server and Tools revenue grew 15 percent, and the Entertainment and Devices division saw a 3 percent increase in revenue thanks to strong Xbox 360 holiday sales. CEO Steve Ballmer offered some words of confidence, saying the company “will emerge an even stronger industry leader than we are today.” [Earnings Report via I4U]