Weekly interest and loan rates | Home values Northwest stock contest 2004 | Consumer affairs

Microsoft to reduce recruitment staffing

By Kim Peterson
Seattle Times technology reporter

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most e-mailed articles

Microsoft said yesterday it is planning to lay off 20 recruiters this summer as part of a restructuring across parts of its human-resources department.

The company said the layoffs do not reflect an overall change in its hiring, and it continues to have a "robust hiring plan."

Microsoft is searching for ways to save money as it heads into its next fiscal year, which starts July 1. Already, the company has announced plans to scale back some employee benefits to save money, and it is asking workers to cut their travel and entertainment spending.

Microsoft has 157 recruiters, mostly in Redmond, in its staffing division, which is a unit of its human-resources department. The recruiters visit college campuses and keep track of internal job openings at the company.

The staffing department will be restructured in July and the new structure will go into place Aug. 2, according to Microsoft spokeswoman Crystal Duncan. The new system will be more efficient, and will allow the recruiters to spend more time tracking potential hires, she said.

On June 30, the recruiters will learn what their new roles will be. About 20 of them will lose their jobs, and Microsoft said it will help them find new positions at the company.

Before then, the recruiters have the option of filling out a "position profile," with information about past job experience outside of Microsoft, that will be considered in the restructuring, Duncan said. They do not have to reapply for their jobs.

Microsoft has about 56,100 employees, up from 54,500 a year ago. Nearly 28,000 of those are in the Puget Sound area.

The company has not said what its hiring plans are for next year, and said it expects to give information on the issue at its financial analysts meeting in July.

Kim Peterson: 206-464-2360 or kpeterson@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More business & technology headlines...