MS tells contractors to take 7 days off

Microsoft Corp has told about 1,000 technology contract workers in the US, India and elsewhere to take seven days off the job.

MS tells contractors to take 7 days offMicrosoft Corp has told about 1,000 technology contract workers in the US, India and elsewhere to take seven days off the job, without Microsoft pay, in a cost-saving move that came as the company unveiled a series of new perks for its internal staff.

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Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos said on Monday that Microsoft told vendors who supply the contractors that about 1,000 workers globally would not be needed this week. The vendors, whose workers do software development for Microsoft, also were told to schedule two other days off, Gellos said.

Gellos said this was one of the first times that Microsoft has scheduled a short period of time off for its contractors. He said the company made the decision because it was running over budget in some areas as it headed toward the end of its fiscal year on June 30.

He stressed that the contractors' work was being delayed, not cancelled.

"We want to be fiscally responsible here," Gellos said.

The vendors were informed of the decision at the beginning of the month. It affects workers in Redmond, Washington state, India and elsewhere, he said.

"I can understand why people might think that there is a connection, but there is not," Gellos said.