MS shedding jobs…but still hiring

After a fresh bout of firings this week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said on Tuesday the world’s biggest software maker will simultaneously add people.

After axing 55 people, or 1% of its 5,500-strong Indian workforce on Monday, the software behemoth said it was mostly through with the job cuts as long as the economy doesn't deteriorate further.

The Redmond-based company in January announced that it would slash 5,000 jobs globally to cope with the economic malaise. In the second round of job cuts effected on May 5, the software major said it would lay off 3,000 employees. The firm had previously laid off 1,400 people in the US in January.

Ballmer, who was in Mumbai to realign its business in the country, said “We are laying off 5000 people, but we are still filling other jobs. There are areas where we are continuing to add people. As I said, these are global additions, so it is a little hard to separate our work globally from our work in India."

Globally, the company will create 2,000-3,000 new jobs before June 2010. Ballmer, however, refused to give a break up of how many new jobs will be created in India but warned the company could cut more if the economic worries increased.

On the proposed move by the Obama administration to withdraw hiring-related tax
incentives for creating jobs abroad, Ballmer said he hoped the US  will make it conducive companies to stay competitive.  Ballmer also quashed speculation that Microsoft was in buyout talks with the German enterprise software firm SAP. The rumour mills started doing the rounds after SAP's main rival Oracle acquired server giant Sun Microsystems four weeks ago.

Ballmer also confirmed the launch of Micorsoft’s latest version of operating system—
Windows 7— by August this year.  Interestingly, he said there was nothing wrong in
putting out versions of its

Windows operating system for cheap laptops powered by ARM chips that are used in
cell phones. 

There has been much speculation on this as launching such a version may pit the software maker directly against chipmaker Intel. The ARM laptop chips are expected to cost only $200 when they launch next month. "I haven't seen a netbook I didn't want Windows to run on," Ballmer said, adding that the company is "excited about the possibilities" opened up by such devices.