Microsoft says it made an accounting error when it laid off some employees last month and now feels the best way to correct the error is with what will likely add up to a public relations blunder.
The software giant, which recently laid off 1,400 employees, sent letters this week to some of those former workers letting them know that their severance payouts were a bit too "generous" and respectfully requested that the former employees pay back that money, according to a report last week on TechCrunch.
"An inadvertent administrative error occurred that resulted in an overpayment in severance pay by Microsoft," the letter states. "We ask that you repay the overpayment and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience to you."
Microsoft told ZDNet Asia's sister site CNET that it was looking into the matter, but a Microsoft spokesman reportedly confirmed the authenticity of the letter to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, calling it a "private matter between the company and the affected people."
The company declined to specify how many of these letters were sent out, and it's unknown how much the overpayments total, but it did indicate that some laid off employees were also undercompensated.
The letter failed to provide an explanation for the accounting error but did manage to add--with underlined emphasis--a veiled threat of monetary punishment if the money wasn't repaid, at least in the form of a tax impact.
This article was first published as a blog post on CNET News.
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surprise
why would this surprise anyone...its just microsoft showing off their excellent skills of doing their jobs...maybe their accounting department uses Vista.
Posted by Don on Monday, February 23 2009 07:08 AM