Thanks OrangeSoul. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is reducing prescription drug benefits and employee stock discounts to save at least $80 million a year, workers have been told. The cuts will "better align our benefits with those of our competition while still keeping us ahead of the market average," Kenneth A. DiPietro, vice president of human resources, wrote in an e-mail to employees Tuesday. In September, Microsoft withdrew a stock option plan that once made a number of employees millionaires but in recent years yielded little because of stagnant share prices. Since then, Microsoft has given employees smaller amounts of stock outright.
The company also has imposed other cost-cutting measures, including reductions in travel and entertainment spending, to sustain profits in a weaker technology market. Still untouched are such benefits as free gym memberships, free beverages on the job, well-stocked cafeterias and flexible time off. Microsoft also has more than $50 billion in cash reserves.
"Microsoft has an incredibly generous benefits package," said Cecily Hall , Microsoft's director of benefits in the United States . "Employees recognize that, and I think that these changes offer a lot of choice and flexibility and therefore should not impact overall morale."
View: Read more at CNN
News source: CNN
The company also has imposed other cost-cutting measures, including reductions in travel and entertainment spending, to sustain profits in a weaker technology market. Still untouched are such benefits as free gym memberships, free beverages on the job, well-stocked cafeterias and flexible time off. Microsoft also has more than $50 billion in cash reserves.
"Microsoft has an incredibly generous benefits package," said Cecily Hall , Microsoft's director of benefits in the United States . "Employees recognize that, and I think that these changes offer a lot of choice and flexibility and therefore should not impact overall morale."
View: Read more at CNN News source: CNN
PLEASE NOTE- IMPORTANT
· The pre-release versions of Windows Update are for testing purposes only.
· Please do not depend on the pre-release versions of Windows Update to keep your computer secure and up to date. If you are not a Windows XP SP2 Beta program participant, you can keep your computer secure and up to date by visiting the
And isn't $80 million like pocket change for Bill Gates? M$ hasn't been losing money, what's the excuse?
That doesn't matter one bit.
When you are a publicly traded company, you are expected to:
1) show a profit each quarter
2) ideally, make more than the previous quarter
Microsoft's latest quarterly statements show that they haven't made as much in previous several quarters. Stockholder's don't necessarily like that & pressure the execs to make changes that will hopefully increase profits/growth.
Last edited by 10547 on 21 May 2004 - 15:15
STV
Last edited by 40230 on 21 May 2004 - 18:40
Software programmers consume more pop drinks than any other profession in the world. I've seen it in the office.
How much money one has made in the past & has stored in the bank doesn't mean near as much as the quarterly income statements.
So wrong...what is wrong with the world...
Everything is so ****ed up...
Whether a BMW was part of their benifits package is irrelevant...
One of the leading corps of the US, with a stranglehold on their market...reduced benfits to save money?
IF M$ has to reduce benifits to meet stockholder demands, the rest of the market has no hope at all...
Well, I didn't neccessarily mean that this move was to solely made to satisfy stockholders, the general pricipal of saving money (no matter what area) and increasing profits is one that plays a vastly more important role in public companies.
slapnuts_ox made the comment about having $50bil in reserve... all I was pointing out is that the $50bil made in the past is basically irrelevant compared to what the company needs to make in the future.
Sign me up!
still its a damn good perky job
It says that if you insist upon getting brand-name drugs instead of chemically identical, FDA approved generic equivalents, you have to make a co-payment to cover the additional cost.
Who gives a damn if they're prescribed Nexium for acid indigestion and get Esomeprazole Magnesium instead? Nexium is Esomeprazole Magnesium.
This is what you discover if you 'RTFA', and once again the anti-Microsoft trolls are showing what low-wattage morons they really are. With enemies like them, Microsoft doesn't need friends!
M$ probably asked the provider of these lavish benefits and conducted a study to see if these benefits were being used and then decided to re-tool the package to beter suit the employees needs and save the company money.
As much as I loathe M$ business practices, I hear that they are VERY good to their employees and they do tend to turn a tidy profit.
With that said I dont think the employees are hurting for benefits...
BILL GATES STOPS CRAPPING TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT..
M$ CONSIDERING BJ BREAK TO MOTIVATE EMPLYEES...
Last edited by 54233 on 21 May 2004 - 17:23
Agreed.
Commenting has either been disabled on this article or you are not logged in. Click here to login or register, its free!
Note: Anonymous commenting is disabled in order to keep the quality of responses to a high standard.