Microsoft likely to cut jobs: analyst

Microsoft Corp. is expected to cut jobs after several major technology firms have been doing it in a response to the economic downturn.

Checks indicate that Microsoft is likely to engage in headcount reductions to the tune of 6,000 to 8,000 employees or 6 percent of its 95,000 workforce, analyst Sid Parakh from McAdams Wright Ragen said, according to Reuters.

The analyst added speculations that some groups will cut jobs further later in the year, the source notes.

Microsoft is also expect to report a fiscal second quarter profit under its own estimates when it releases its earnings report Jan. 22 after conditions in the economy reduced consumer spending and therefore demand of all kind of consumer goods.