To paraphrase to someone’s witty comment about his death, “news of heavy Microsoft Layoffs have been greatly exaggerated. Good news about employment for a change. According to the Microsoft Blog, the rumors that Microsoft may be laying off as much as 17% of its workforce are just that–rumors.
While the company’s hiring practices has slowed down significantly, the dreaded shedding of employees does not appear in the cards. There will be cost cutting throughout Microsoft and many contractors will not have their agreements renewed. Other matters are under review.
Mind you, there may still be layoffs, but they won’t be as drastic as the rumor mill would have you believe.
So if you are in the market for some good tech people, you may want to consider recruiting the contractors Microsoft is letting go. It is probably good timing at a good bargain. Be sure to run the appropriate background checks to be sure that the nonrenewals have occurred as part of an economic cutback and not for other, more nefarious reasons.
Remember, check them out before you hire.
