Ballmer resets recession, preps for 100,000 troops
The economy is not in recession. It's just experiencing a "resetting" of spending, and Microsoft won't retrench after years of huge expansion. It'll just apply the breaks 'til things get better.
At least, that's what Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said while announcing 5,000 planned layoffs and second-quarter earning that saw Microsoft undershoot expectations by almost $1bn.
Ballmer's uncharacteristic appearance in a second-quarter call was clearly designed to reassure analysts wobbly about Microsoft and the investment bets Ballmer's made in the wake of a tough quarter. Those layoffs were he first in Microsoft's thirty-odd-year history.
According to Microsoft's CEO, there's a resetting is in the economy to a "lower level of business and consumer spending".
That's been dictated by consumers who can't get credit to refinance their homes, let alone buy a second or third PC, and businesses chopping IT to control capital expenses.
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