All dressed up
and nowhere to go

Recent speculations that Microsoft will fire a large number of employees on January 15th have been backtracked by their sources.

According to MSNBC, a "significant cost-cutting initiative" is expected, but not to the dramatic degree reported by sites like Mini-Microsoft and Fudzilla, which suggested departures would total anywhere between 10 and 17% of Microsoft's staff.

Fudzilla — whose figures rested on the large end of the spectrum — repositioned its previous report, saying instead that "There's a big chance that a large chunk of the 17 percent figure could come out of the agency staff" — a label that refers to contractors.

Meanwhile, Mini-Microsoft followed up reports of a 10% layoff with a post headed "No Layoffs at Microsoft," reports Seattle PI.

Instead of a "rumored, sweeping layoff" (MSNBC), a number of contracted employees will be cut once their service periods expire. Last month, for example, 180 contractors were informed their contracts would not be renewed.

News of the scalebacks follow reports that Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser hosted 68% market share in December, down from 74% in May. In November, Microsoft Sites served 8.3% of US searches, versus Yahoo's 20.4% and Google's 63.5%.