Microsoft cancels company picnic
When Microsoft said on Thursday that it had found more ways to trim expenses, it wasn't kidding.
The software maker notified its workers on Friday that it is canceling its annual summer picnic for Seattle-area workers.
Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos said that the company made the move as part of its effort to pare its expenses and said workers were notified on Friday because this is around the time of year that the company typically sends out a reminder about the event.
Gellos noted that the event has become a growing logistical challenge as Microsoft's Puget Sound workforce has grown.
"It becomes a bigger and bigger issue every year," he said. The company now has about 41,000 workers in the region.
Gellos did not have an estimate on how much the event costs to produce, or what, if anything, Microsoft might do in its place. "We'll look to investigate ways we can have something to bring folks together, but not in the way we have in the past."
The yearly picnic was one of the few events that brought together the bulk of Microsoft's Puget Sound workforce, which is spread out over many different parts of the region, including Seattle, Bellevue, and Redmond. The company also has a company meeting, typically held in September, that takes place at Safeco Field, the home of the Mariners baseball team.
"We'll still have that because it's very business-oriented," Gellos said.
Microsoft has significantly trimmed its travel budget as well as its large bills for vendors and contractors, as well as announced plans to cut 5,000 workers over the next 18 months.
While leaders at EMC and Intel said they saw signs that the economic woes may have reached bottom, Microsoft's executives said on Thursday that they see continued pressures lasting through at least the rest of 2009.
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina. 
I really wish someone would explain to me why Apple announces a gangbuster quarter and their stock goes down. Microsoft announces a miserable one and theirs goes up. Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought it was supposed to work the opposite way.
But really there could be hundreds of other reasons too..
Remember when Apple announced MacBook Air back at Macworld08, AAPL were down like 2% next day?
At least AAPL enjoyed one day up this time.
Actually stock-holders have good reasons to cash-in after great quarterly report.
And it's not like AAPL could magically pull some shiny new thing out of thin air before WWDC.
Microsoft picnic = pennies for the company.
Berate MS for the fact that they're spending literally millions of dollars on their Apple smear campaigns - "Mojave Experiment", Windows Photo Gallery, and that whole Find a PC nonsense. If they would stop with just one of those commercials they'd be able to do the picnic.
LOL
Given that you have shown you are an idiot of danseasprayfutureguy proportions, that is pretty funny coming from you.
Cancelling the picnic is meaningless, not even worth the time that has been spent discussing it here.
It's not like they posted a loss or got federal bailout money or is ready for bankruptcy. They are hugely profitable.
Lame.
Microsoft are cutting jobs, and if not having a picnic saves 136 peoples jobs, that doesnt seem at all lame to me.
Agreed. If they miss out on free food and bouncy castles so they can feed and house their families, then I say cancel the picnic.
- Windows 7 will be a virtual launch
- No more MVP summit
- TechED will become smaller, more virtual focused conferences that are region based
http://tinyurl.com/d5u5l9.
How much would it cost to get you to stop being so immature?
Oh, Mr. Dee - tell us, how do we do that? You've been the shining example of talking "crap", how do you continue to do it? All those hours spent hunched over your crappy machine, spewing out more and more... didn't your therapist tell you it's just not good for you, and you should move on and get a life? Mindless obsession is such a nasty little thing..
They'll end up giddy and will stay up past their 7 o'clock bedtime.
whether you love/hate MS "Bill Gates" was/is Amazing!
( F-U for anybody who hates him!)
But because it is MS, people have this feeling that they need to say something bad about MS. That they are cheap on their work force, etc.
MS was hit, like any other company in the market. So it takes measures to prevent from things going worse.
I'm sure that all the companies, once the economic situation will get better, will go back to their usual routines: trying to make their work place more fun.
times are not hard at MS. they just turned a massive profit, and have $40 billion in cash. is it as good as last year? no, but make yourself a better company, don't take it out on the families of your employees.
I think most companies canceling these events are stupid, but at least for some, they are doing it because they have political pressure to do so. Here, MS has no such pressure, are making lots of money, and are being cheap for no reason other than they can.
It's not the best way to improve their corporate culture. But maybe someone in PR thought "how can we have a party for 40000 people when we just announced 5000 layoffs?" The answer is, because people lose their jobs all the time in this world. Everyone else isn't supposed to suffer, too.
It is just the insane idea that if a company isn't growing it is in trouble or at least needs to scale back. That is idiocy. A company can live forever at a break even point.
Yes, MS is in trouble, but it is from technological reasons not business.
This is the worst thing a company can do in times like this. I have no respect for Steve Ballmer and I'm sure his staff feel the same way.....
I could tell that MS is trimming down when I was at a Windows 7 presentation the other night. There were just enough Comp Pens to go around, a few soft drinks and pastries. I was wondering if I was even going to receive a disk...
I doubt Microsoft employees, other than those cut, have any need for your sympathy.
So I'm guessing since you knew there was something back there, that makes you the cow? You do seem to be chewing a lot of cud on these comments today.
Apple did not layoff workers - they cut hours only - not employees.
http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20090424/did-apple-just-fire-1600-retail-workers-nope/
Get a clue.
The picnic may just help them relax long enough to go back to work and be productive. That's something brought around due to Henry Fords influence and it's a great idea.
@Mr. Dee
If you don't agree with comment, give reasons why or stop making your own.
As MS become more irrelevant, so will there bottom line. It will be a slow process and by the time MS realizes it is dying, it will be too late.
No picnic money?
- by The_happy_switcher April 24, 2009 2:34 PM PDT
- Mr. Dee: Microsoft's favorite apologist. I guess he has to supplement that Mickey D's paycheck somehow.
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- by Mr. Dee April 24, 2009 6:22 PM PDT
- I am a apologist and you are an Apple sadist.
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- by Vegaman_Dan April 24, 2009 9:00 PM PDT
- Enough, AppleRocks1963. Your comments are no longer welcome here by anyone at this point. If you have something actually constructive or useful to say, then please do so- it would be a welcome change from the norm for you.
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- by The_happy_switcher April 24, 2009 11:23 PM PDT
- "Your comments are no longer welcome here by anyone at this point. " Gee, I wasn't aware you spoke for the rest of the board, ********. I think there are plenty here who don't share your arrogant point of view you pompous prick.
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- by Mr. Dee April 25, 2009 6:20 AM PDT
- Hey Mr. Paris Hilton Collection, didn't you hear? Go away, you are nothing but damaged goods.
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- by The_happy_switcher April 25, 2009 11:35 AM PDT
- I'm not going anywhere you braindead inbred-cretin.
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- by Mr. Dee April 25, 2009 2:14 PM PDT
- Apple, please you are spread disease, no one wants your over expensive collection.
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- by The_happy_switcher April 25, 2009 11:15 PM PDT
- Whatever that means, you blathering incoherent ****** bag. Skip your meds today?
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- by rapier1 April 27, 2009 11:16 AM PDT
- Actually, Apple Rocks, I think he does speak for a lot of people. Even Mac owners like myself are embarrassed when people like you speak out.
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- by The_happy_switcher April 27, 2009 2:50 PM PDT
- If that's true you should sell your Mac and switch to Windows. You're no longer on the team.
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