Microsoft, RealNetworks Face More Layoffs

Just two weeks after releasing Windows 7, Microsoft announced it will lay off an additional 800 employees on top of the 5,000 jobs that have already been eliminated.

The world's largest software firm, which says the move will cut expenses by $1.5 billion per year, originally planned to cut 5 percent of its workforce before June 2010. A company spokesperson says these new cuts are spread throughout Microsoft's global operations, with about 200 coming from its headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

All the cuts will account for Microsoft's first major round of layoffs in its 34-year history. After the layoffs are complete, about 6.3 percent of the company's 91,000 employees will have been eliminated. That's up from previous estimates of 5.5 percent.

But Microsoft isn't the only company announcing layoffs. RealNetworks, tied up in a legal battle over its RealDVD ripping software, is cutting 4 percent of its workforce or 70 employees, according to CNET. Despite a third-quarter profit of $1.5 million, which compares to a loss of $4.5 million for the same quarter in 2008, RealNetworks says it's cutting the 1,700-person staff to control costs.

According to CNET, some of the laid-off employees could actually be hired back by RealNetworks in divisions where the company is growing. In 2008, RealNetworks laid off about 130 employees.