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January 11, 1996 2:30 p.m.
Microsoft lays off 120 floppy-media staffers
By Mary Jo Foley
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Microsoft Corp. today issued layoff notices to 120 workers at its Canyon Park
manufacturing facility.
The cuts, effective immediately, are the result of a shift in the type of
media used to distribute Microsoft software, according to company officials in
Redmond, Wash.
Microsoft spokeswoman Jennifer Moede said all of the 120 were involved in
floppy-disk manufacturing work. "As a result of a shift in increased demand
for CD ROM and preloaded versions of our products, these people were no longer
needed," Moede said.
The layoffs do not signal a downturn in hiring for Microsoft, Moede claimed,
and the company is continuing to hire all types of employees at a steady clip,
she added.
Microsoft is making efforts to reassign the 120, either inside Microsoft or
at other companies in the Puget Sound area, Moede added.
The total work force at Canyon Park, the facility in Bothell, Wash., where
Microsoft manufactures Windows 95 and Office 95, among other products, will
decline from 645 to 525.
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JF