Microsoft slahes 800 jobs

In January, when Microsoft announced first announced it will cut 5,000 jobs, CEO Steve Ballmer said they came as Microsoft faced the most challenging economic climate in its 34-year history. The layoffs were originally slated to run until mid-2010, but the firm now believes that the cuts have been completed ahead of schedule.

"I can confirm we're eliminating 800 jobs today," spokesman Lou Gellos said. "That's part of the larger program we announced in January."

The positions being eliminated from Wednesday will affect staff internationally and in a range of business units, he said, without providing further detail.

According to ZDNet, Gellos said that prior to today’s announcement, Microsoft already had cut 5,000 positions but only 4,600 people, since about 400 of those cut found new positions at the company.

To date, Microsoft has now cut 5,800 positions total since January and indicated that Microsoft has exceeded its headcount reduction commitments. This means that 6.3 percent of the company's 91,000 employees will or have already lost their jobs, up from the previously expected 5.5 percent.

Microsoft closed up 53 cents or 1.94 percent higher at $28.06 on the Nasdaq.