It’s now Microsoft’s turn to announce job cuts! Yes, the Redmond, Washington based software giant Microsoft, on Thursday, announced that the company will slash 5,000 jobs in the next 18 months.

According to Microsoft, job cuts will be made in R&D, HR, Marketing, Sales, Finance, Legal and IT, but no job cuts will be made in Indian operations. So, the people working in Microsoft’s Indian operations need not worry about job cuts.

Microsoft’s job cut move is part of the company’s strategy of cutting costs, controlling costs, reducing expenditures, in the wake of the current global economic conditions. The move came in the wake of the sharp fall of the company’s quarterly profit.   

Last month, Microsoft posted 11 percent fall in net profit for its fiscal second quarter, from a year ago to US$4.17 billion (HK$32.52 billion) on revenue of US$16.63 billion, a 2 percent rise over a year ago. The company reported that earnings per share were 47 cents, less than the 49 cents per share.

Confirming the job cuts, on Thursday, Chief executive Steve Ballmer, said, “Microsoft is eliminating up to 5,000 jobs in research and development, marketing, sales, finance, legal, human resources, and information technology over the next 18 months, including 1,400 jobs today.”