Microsoft layoffs "one more thing" to worry Redmond business owners

At the SecondStory Repertory Theatre in Redmond Town Center, Microsoft employees volunteer behind the scenes, fill the audience and pay for classes.

Ticket sales already have been down with a bad economy, and managing director Caitlin Frances expects them to worsen with Thursday's news of Microsoft's layoffs. The impact could extend to fewer matching funds from Microsoft as employees donate less time, don't renew subscriptions and give less money to the nonprofit.

"This'll be something that impacts us next month, next year," Frances said. "They're part of our infrastructure. They're an important part of our community."

Business owners around Redmond, where most of Microsoft's 41,000-plus local employees work, worried Thursday about the impact of layoffs on businesses that rely upon the software giant's employees. Some already have seen Microsoft-related business soften over the past few months.

At Redmond Town Center, business owners wondered whether layoffs would stop Microsoft workers, who pour out of three nearby office buildings at lunch or drive over from the main campus, from eating out or shopping.

At Mehfil Fine Indian Dining, owner and ex-Microsoft employee Krishna Meduri said the economy already is bringing down business. Microsoft employees also have been holding fewer team meetings at his restaurant and he has seen a decrease in the past two months of contract workers, easily identified by their orange badges.

On Thursday, he overheard at least one table of three talking about laid-off colleagues.

Even if only a few people are cut from the staffs nearby, "it affects the psyche of employees," Meduri said.

Nancy Dewey, assistant manager at Bergman Luggage, sells adapters, computer cases and duffel bags to the international teams who come through the local Marriott for Microsoft training. She's seen people from Russia, Ukraine, Australia and India. She wondered Thursday if that would change.

"A large amount of our business is done with Microsoft," Dewey said. "It's like one more thing to kick us in the butt."

Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com