Microsoft tells contract workers to take 7 days off

Microsoft Corp told more than 1,000 contract workers doing software development and testing to take seven business days off without pay to lower costs during this quarter, the company said on Monday.
Earlier this month, Microsoft asked half of the technology vendors it uses for software development to defer seven business days worth of work including this week, to the coming fiscal year starting July 1, said company spokesman Lou Gellos.
The software giant emphasised it was not over-budget, but certain divisions needed to pare back some costs in order to stay on budget. Microsoft said these types of cut-backs are a common way for technology companies to manage costs. "It is fairly common within the industry, but not that common for Microsoft," said Gellos, who declined to be more specific about what areas of the company were involved except to say that the development was "not critical."