An analyst last week advised Microsoft to cut its workforce by 10%, saying axing more than 9,000 jobs would be a healthy move for Redmond. The analyst, Brad Reback at brokerage firm Oppenheimer & Co, said that such a move would result in about a 10-cent gain in earnings-per-share. More importantly, according to Reback, it would signal that Redmond is willing to do what it takes to be profitable — and that being profitable means more to the company than revenue growth during this shaky economy.
Microsoft reportedly instituted a hiring freeze in October — although the company officially denied it. The India Server news site attributes unnamed sources to a report today that Microsoft is indeed expected to announce layoffs in January, 2009.
