Microsoft DC Not Impacted By Job Cuts
Microsoft's announcement Thursday that it plans to eliminate up to 5,000 jobs across the company is not going to have an immediate impact on its Washington, D.C., office, according to a company representative. The firm's policy shop has undergone a number of changes in recent months; it currently has two lobbying slots that have yet to be filled. "The majority of today's job eliminations are in Redmond, consistent with the high concentration of employees based at our headquarters in the Seattle area," Microsoft spokeswoman Catherine Collins said in an e-mail.
The high-tech giant announced earlier in the day that "in light of the further deterioration of global economic conditions... Microsoft will eliminate up to 5,000 jobs in R&D, marketing, sales, finance, legal, HR, and IT over the next 18 months, including 1,400 jobs." The company said the cuts should reduce its annual operating expense run rate by about $1.5 billion and reduce fiscal year 2009 capital expenditures by $700 million. The company also noted that because of the "volatility of market conditions going forward" it cannot "offer quantitative revenue and EPS guidance for the balance of this fiscal year."
Microsoft spokeswoman Ginny Terzano said the company is in the process of hiring a lobbyist to fill the position of outgoing Barry LaSala who is joining the government-relations firm Elmendorf Strategies. LaSala served as a liaison between the company and Senate Democrats. The company also has not yet filled a House Democratic lobbyist position that was opened when Matt Gelman was promoted to senior director for congressional affairs. Fred Humphries, who had been leading Microsoft's state government affairs team moved to Washington recently to replace Jack Krumholtz as managing director of federal affairs. -- Winter Casey
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