Microsoft to laid off employees: We’re gonna need that cash back
Microsoft has allegedly sent out a notice to former employees (those who were recently laid off) to come back so they can pour a little bit of salt in their wounds. Apparently, human resources in Redmond made a little oopsie and overpaid severance for some ex-workers. According to the notice, the folks in question have two weeks to send a check or money order back to Microsoft to cover the overage. The error may have also caused underpayment of severance for other former employees. This isn’t shaping up so well for Microsoft and for those who are being forced to send in payments to correct an HR error. Imagine receiving news of your impending layoff and then being sent packing with your check, only to receive a notice later that effectively reads, “Our bad. Send some of that money back, please.” No official word from Microsoft as to when the error occurred and why.
You guys assuming you know what the legalities of this situation are hilarious. There are so many details. When you get laid off, there’s always some agreement you have to sign. Was the severance money wrong on the agreement the laid off employees signed too? If so, no way in hell MS should ask for and definitely not get that money back.
There’s just so many things that are dependent upon what should happen here.
This BGR story only touches the surface.
I agree with “SL”. The smart move here was to just let it go. I mean how much extra did they give these people? Couldn’t have been all that much. I further agree that MS in the last few years has been on a decline in a lot of things and now this blunder. They may want to bring Bill Gates back out of semi-retirement as Steve Ballmer has made a mess of everything up there lately.
@ Dark Cobra
yeah, i’ll probably start getting more spam email….lol.
LOL LOL LOL!
Ahhh… the Evil Empire shows its true colors once again. May the farce be with you.
Apple wouldn’t pull this shit
Yeah, Apple wouldn’t have laid them off . . . they would have just fired ‘em!
Firing people is a lot cleaner than how this is turning out. Messy messy messy.
Levander, I’m not assuming anything as far as legalities are concerned, because as far as I’m concerned, they’re essentially irrelevant. Whether or not M$ has the legal right to ask for the extra severance money back isn’t the real problem here. It’s whether or not asking former employees to return that money is a good idea from a PR/image perspective. I’m stating that it simply isn’t.
Reputations take years of hard work and results to build, but only one major screw-up, or a series of smaller ones, to totally annihilate. This is but the latest in a series of bad M$ blunders.
Bill Gates has billions of dollars and they have the nerve to do this? Bastards.
In today’s financial climate, no judge is going to go for this. Face it Microsoft, you screwed up. Not that much to lose from your multiple billions. Not to mention, I would tell Microsoft to go pound salt. What are they going to do, sue someone who already doesn’t have a job or money? Something tells me that would not get them anywhere.
It must have been a somekind of Excel malfunction
This doesn’t look good for microsofts image, bill gates has billions of dollars and these people already don’t have jobs and wut if they already spent the money on bills?? Wth microsoft? Is it really worth it??
Yo.
Sorry. Hit the wrong button.
now they know they should have laid off the accountants.
I dare say that the PR people and senior management at MS are fuming about how their finance dept has handled this.
Finance/accounts folks are notoriously poor at this type of thing.
Legally, MS probably have recourse to chase the cash but realistically they would be crazy.
On the other hand, some of the people laid off will be hoping to be re-hired by MS at some point in the future so they have some motivation to pay up….
I told you that new Office 2007 ribbon will be the death of them!
Jaaannnkkeeee. Let them keep the money. Times are hard for people w/o employment. Lame MS…
Update info: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29353191/
The employees get the keep the extra $$$ after all.
yup, they get to keep the money. according to seattle news. and I still think BGR is sending me spam email…to be continued
and by the way, it was ranging from $500 to a max of $5000, so wasn’t like it was millions or anything…
I’m starting to feel left out. How come I ain’t getting no spam? Where’s the BGR love for me? It ain’t fair I tell ya! I demand spam from BGR just like my pal JakeyBoy gets!
Under California Law if an employer overpays a severance it cannot be recovered. This only applies if it was in check form (as most final paychecks are) and not a direct deposit. Direct deposit paycheck agreements usually give the employer the right to debit an employee account if they overpay.