They just want slave labor. They need cheap labor to patch their Windows spaghetti code. And believe me according to a friend who worked there and walked through a lot of that code trying to find bugs in it says it is spaghetti. Forget about the programming management books Microsoft publishes. They use none of that stuff. They just published them because some of their people wrote them and my friend said even those people weren't capable of following the guidelines they wrote.
If Microsoft wants to save money then have a team move the Windows GUI on top of Linux. Get rid of the broken and screwed up permissions system that Vista has and some wacko team at MS dreampt up instead of using the time tested one that's in Linux, UNIX and even OS X. I can't believe there are even geeks excited about Windows 7. Who needs it? (Obviously the people who are stuck with Vista and can't stand it and hope 7 will save them). Soon everybody will be broke in the US soon and MS will be able to hire competent "highly skilled" programmers at minimum wage. If Microsoft still exists at that point. I remember when I was in India over 10 years ago one of our tour guides had a Master's in computer science. He was asking me about jobs so I asked him if he had any experience programming Windows. Of course not. Back then they way they learned was to stand around a computer in a group and watch an instructor show them how to do things. They got very little hands on experiences. I told him he was up against westerners who owned computers and maybe never took a class in computer science but learned from books how to program, even Windows programming, and could show me some programs they had written. That's who I hired. People with REAL experience not theoretical knowledge. Vaj wrote: > http://www.businessweek.com/print/bwdaily/dnflash/content/feb2009/db2009021_893728.htm > > > > > <http://www.businessweek.com/> > > *TOP NEWS* February 1, 2009, 7:15PM EST > *Microsoft: Layoffs for Some, Visas for Others* > > The software giant that has pushed for more H-1B visas faces tough questions > as > it lays off 5,000 > > By Moira Herbst <http://www.businessweek.com/print/bios/Moira_Herbst.htm> > > Even as the economy hemorrhages jobs, many employers continue to advocate for > fewer restrictions on importing foreign workers to fill specialized jobs. > They > say that while there's growing slack in the job market, there are still > shortages of people to act as farm hands, nurses, and software engineers. > > Not surprisingly, foreign-worker programs are coming under fire in the face > of > the highest U.S. unemployment rate in 16 years—7.2% in December. One of the > critics' biggest targets is the software giant Microsoft (_MSFT_ > <http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=MSFT>). > > A longtime advocate for more skilled immigration, Microsoft continues to ask > Congress to lift caps on the H-1B visa program for highly skilled workers and > offer more green cards to foreign-born talent. As recently as Jan. 5, the > company posted a policy proposal on President Obama's _transition Web site_ > <http://change.gov/open_government/entry/microsoft-_developing_attracting_and_retaining_the_worlds_best_and_brightes/> > > requesting that the government "remove caps that bar entry into the U.S. by > high-skilled immigrants." Several weeks later, on a Jan. 22 earnings > conference > call, the company _announced plans to eliminate 5,000 jobs_ > <http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2009/tc20090122_057653.htm> > > in research and development, information technology, marketing, sales, > finance, > legal, and human resources over the next 18 months, as well as thousands of > contract jobs. > > *TECH LAYOFFS UP 74% IN 2008* > > "We're certainly in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime set of economic > conditions," said Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer during the > call, after the company announced weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings. > "The > economy is resetting to a lower level of business and consumer spending." > > Of course, Microsoft isn't the only tech company cutting jobs. With demand > for > new technology declining sharply, the pace of job-cutting by firms in the > sector > rose 167% in the second half of 2008, according to Challenger, Gray & > Christmas, > a Chicago outsourcing firm. Employers in telecommunications, computers, and > electronics announced 186,955 job cuts in 2008, 74% more than during the > previous year. > > So far, 2009 has already seen tens of thousands of cuts at tech companies > including Texas Instruments (_TI_ > <http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=TI>), > > IBM (_IBM_ > <http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=IBM>), > > Motorola (_MOT_ > <http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=MOT>), > > and AOL (_TWX_ > <http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=TWX>). > > *GATES PUSHED HIGHER H-1B CAPS* > > The deadline for companies to request petitions for new H-1B visas is Apr. 1. > In > recent years, the demand for those visas has far exceeded the > government-capped > supply. It's unclear how the recession will affect demand this year. > > The H-1B program was started in 1990 to give employers a short-term fix for > what > they claimed was a shortage of highly skilled workers. In 2007 and again in > 2008, Microsoft co-founder and then-Chairman Bill Gates _argued in > Congressional > testimony_ > <http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2008/tc20080311_944063.htm> > > that there was a severe shortage of U.S. science and engineering talent. He > urged Congress to _raise the cap_ > <http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/exec/billg/speeches/2008/congress.mspx> > on > H-1B visas for highly skilled workers. > > But Microsoft's recent layoffs—the first such broad-based cutback in the > company's history—prompted some to ask how Microsoft can still need more visa > workers. Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), a leading critic of the H-1B > program, _sent a letter to Ballmer_ > <http://grassley.senate.gov/news/Article.cfm?customel_dataPageID_1502=18922> > on > Jan. 22 demanding that U.S. workers get priority so as to keep their jobs. > The > senator asked Ballmer for further details such as a description of jobs to be > eliminated, details as to how many are held by H-1Bs or employees granted > other > kinds of work visas, and how many similar jobs held by foreign guest workers > are > being retained. WashTech, a tech-worker labor union, and the Programmers' > Guild, > an advocacy group for U.S. tech workers, are also calling for more answers > from > Microsoft. > > *MICROSOFT: TALENT SHORTAGES PERSIST* > > Microsoft spokeswoman Ginny Terzano says the company is working on a response > to > Grassley's letter. Terzano declined to say how many H-1B visa workers would > be > laid off, but says "a significant number of the affected employees are > foreign > citizens working in this country on a visa." > > Terzano says that despite the worsening job market, Microsoft still has > trouble > filling such core positions as software development engineers, software > architects, and program managers. Also, while the company will eliminate jobs > in > some business segments, it will continue to hire in emerging areas, including > online services, search, and cloud computing. > > Such explanations don't satisfy critics, who say employers are _abusing the > program_ > <http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_43/b4105065887790.htm> > to hire cheaper foreign workers who displace Americans, depressing U.S. wages > and working conditions. Terzano says Microsoft is working with the U.S. > Citizenship & Immigration Services on reforming the program to prevent it > from > being abused in this way, but critics want tough legislative reform rather > than > administrative adjustments. > > "Microsoft is laying off 5,000 workers," says Kim Berry, president of the > Programmers' Guild. "Are we to believe that none of them would be qualified > to > fill these openings?" > > *SKEPTICS DOUBT AMERICANS LACK SKILLS* > > Some laid-off workers say they'd be happy to take full-time jobs with the > company. Chris Fox, 55, says he has worked in two staff positions with > Microsoft > and several times as a contractor since 1989. Fox, who lives in Woodinville, > Wash., about 30 minutes from Seattle, says he began a contract job with > Microsoft in mid-November 2008, working as a senior software engineer on a > new > feature for the Windows 7 operating system. Fox was employing his C++ > programming skills and earning about $55 per hour. He says that while he > thought > the job would continue through the year, Microsoft told him on Jan. 6 that it > would no longer need him. > > "I'd gotten great reports on my work from my manager," says Fox. "[The > decision] > came out of nowhere." > > Dan Cobb, senior vice-president of Yoh, a tech talent and outsourcing > company, > says he doubts that there are many job categories tech companies cannot fill > in > the U.S., especially considering the state of the job market. > > "If cost is not an issue, you can ultimately find anybody you want," says > Cobb. > He suggests however that Microsoft's problem could be geographic. "It's very > possible that [Microsoft has] sucked the market dry in Seattle and > surrounding > areas," says Cobb. "It could be easier to ask a third-party company to have a > particular worker delivered rather than conduct a nationwide search and > relocate > someone." > > _/Herbst/_ <mailto:moira_her...@businessweek.com>/ is a reporter for > BusinessWeek in New York./ > > ------------------------------------ To subscribe, send a message to: fairfieldlife-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!'Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:fairfieldlife-dig...@yahoogroups.com mailto:fairfieldlife-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: fairfieldlife-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! 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