Microsoft wants refund from some laid off workers

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 a public relations blunder.

The software giant, which recently laid off 1,400 employees, sent letters this week to some 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.

[frayer]

I hate Microsoft!

[kparks]

I would not give it back LOL to bad for them :)

[Timberland2K9]

Next thing you know they will start charging for all The RRODs they repaired

[villevalorox]

If they should have to give you all that money back. M$ Should have to give me money back for all the junk hardware I was stupid enough to buy. See Just because I was stupid does not mean you have to give me or the rest of the stupid people that bought junk form you back eh? So M$ was stupid and they want their money back. Now you know how it feels to have your money taken form you.

[StayHigh]

Microsoft is greedy..you just laid them off they probably struggling right now..

[velaxun]

just wow.... this is unreal. I CAN'T believe they'd do that. I always disagreed with most of MS's business practices but this just takes the cake. I don't even know what to think about this, I'm simply too shocked

[INehalemEXI]

I swear.

[andyo13]

greedy greedy.

[hay]

Oh, that's so f*cking low... That may mean... Are they running short on money?

[EXCLUSIVEGAMER]

M$ cult followers. read it and weep. your master is a douche

[Daz]

greedy becuase they gave out to much money for people laid of now they want some of it back because of an error.

i ve had paycheck corrections becuse they gave me to much because of a error there end, i was pissed. but its not the end of the world.
BUt this happens alot to people but they dont get turned into an artical.

I should right a blog on a company that done this to me.

[Real Gambler]

The error came from the fact that they were using Excel to calculate the severance payouts... Luckily, they also use Access, as the database to keep track of their employees, so they will likely never find them back!!!

[SWORDF1SH]

Enough of the fanboy news and fanboys on N4G.
Gaming journalist have got out of hand and its spreading to the gamers.
Be a real gamer and stop with the hate for rival console.
Both consoles are here to stay so get over it.
Make N4G a gaming site once again and MESSAGE ME to add you to the list to show that you support this message and spread this message.
Go on. Say something nice about your rival console.
People that support it:
NinjaRyu
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Traveler
NewScratch
Soda Popinsky
BlackTar187
La Chance
STIKUP ARTIST
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IcarusOne
ultimolu
Sayai jin
blackparade man
king dong
-EvoAnubis-
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(THANX GUYS FOR YOUR SUPPORT)

[Karum]

The difference is when your job gave you too much in your wages you still had a job and had some guaranteed income the next week/month or w/e.

These people were laid off and are probably out of work and it's even more of a kick in the teeth/balls to them.

Should have just sucked it up and took the loss instead of further adding to the horrible public perception of their company.

[Cryos]

quit spamming the boards. what you're doing is more annoying than fanboys.

[Sayai jin]

Pretty darn shady. These employees have already had enough bad news.

Do not fool yourselves MS, is like any other Manufacturer/Company. They are all greedy and want your money. If they did not they would give their stuff out for free.

[DaTruth]

Your supporters for a fanboy free N4G are some of the biggest fanboys on the site, If they truly wanted that, it's completely up to them.

Sorry, but I seriously lol'd at that list.

Funny thing about this site is that you can't even discuss anything positive about gaming because nobody responds to anything but fanboy remarks. Agreements just don't spark any form of response or conversation.

[xwabbit]

LMAO this article is so dam funny omg

[Sevir04]

the people that they laid off are going through some hard times thanks to this economy right now, to simply say you want money back is ridiculous. put your game divison on a budget and tell them you want the money they are pouring into exclusive Downloadable content

[NickIni]

Nice way to make friends MS. You should write a book on it.

[DaTruth]

Than they would be laying off their games division.

[soxfan2005]

Funny, I though CNET was being accused of being owned by MS just last week when they said something negative about Sony.

[kparks]

yup saw the same post CNET is by far not supporting consoles they got better things to worry about there a news site there not like ign gametrailers or so on

[kparks]

haha i wonder if they underpaid people whould they send out a note saying sorry we underpaid you your check is in the mail?

[FrankenLife]

Ctrl + Alt + Delete

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

Just reading all these comments on this page shows how much people hate MS. This whole site is composed of anti-MS movement.

MS made a mistake and overpaid, it is not their right to ask for the funds back? The fact that the people were laid off has nothing to do with the fact that the overpayment was made in error and that the people involved have no right to keep it.

No matter how you look at it, the money wasn't intended for you and therefore isn't yours to keep. If you keep it, you are stealing. Short and simple!

[Johnny Rotten]

wow that sucks,

I was laid off last week and I'm currently going through the unemployment process and it sucks pretty bad. My company paid me out for 6 weeks but I have to wait 11 before I am eligible for anything thanks to basing my waiting period off of my gross and not my net income.

Hopefully it doesn't cause too much of a mess for them.

[jams_shop]

man I hope things get solve for you soon. I know what is like to lose a job when you need it the most

[gta2800]

Hang in there man. Hope everything turns out well for you.

[iheartSONY]

N4G and GAMES should help during these hard times.

[Sayai jin]

Truly unfortunate. The globally economy is effecting everyone. I hope your job and financial recovery is swift.

[DaTruth]

Lucky for me I have a crap job(strange thing to say), so it can't be outsourced and they can't do without it. But, hope things look up for you.

We should start a charity to give used games to unemployed gamers, much better than selling them for five bucks and then EB sells them for fifty. I would spend five bucks to send it in the mail.

[Johnny Rotten]

lol thanks for the replies but I was just trying to show what kind of mess the employees might be into if they have to give money back they might of already claimed.

Unemployment makes you claim your last cheque so if you have to give some money back then your left with a mess that YOU have to deal with not the company that screwed up in the first place. Even though the Government try to do thier best this sort of thing may set you back, and for most people it's one more thing that they wish they didn't have to worry about.

PS: I will take games though. :)

[Sayai jin]

Hey, man. Let me know what games you are interested in. Seriously, I can make something happen. We have all been there before.

Game one...

[kparks]

SORRY to hear that im unemployed at the moment to.. i was making $24 a hour and now cant even get a job at target or k-mart to hold me over till i can get back into my field.. its ridiculous out hear right now!!!

[Raz]

http://www.badjoystick.com/...

Found this around the site - Ballmer truly is nuttier than a squirrel tree. Which explains a LOT about Microsoft's doings these days...it wouldn't surprise me to see another CEO shakeup in the near future.

Gates probably wouldn't have made the mistake of extorting money from former employees. But this guy? I can almost see him drafting the memo to HR.

[cayal]

Yeah good luck getting that back MS.

[UltimateIdiot911]

Microsoft can easily blacklist these ex-employee if they do not return the money. Especially in bad times like these, you wouldn't want to be black listed.

[cayal]

Blacklist them from what?

They'd have a hard time making anything happen since it isn't against the law to keep it.

[Le Idiotce]

If you want to apply for a job at the local supermarket or at Wendys, I severely doubt any of those companies would actually care if you are on MSs blacklist.

If you want to find a job at corporate America, youre fked if you appear on a blacklist, ok.

Thats because people dont want to work with people who are on a blacklist, ie liars, thieves, unloyal, attitude problem, machoist, sexual offender, etc etc.

You appear on a blacklist and you are fked. Its as simple as that. Especially in times like these. In times like these you WILL WANT to have a letter from your former employer stating that you are a good employee who works hard and is smart. Thats the kind of thing you will want to show the company you are applying for. Not some blacklist.

And believe me, companies do inform eachother who is on who's blacklist. Because its listed on your resume that you worked for Microsoft. And they will call Microsoft just to check and see if you are lying and what kind of person you are.

And if MS says you are on their blacklist, you are FKED.

But like I said, unless you want to work at the local supermarket, because I sincerely doubt your local supermarket gives a flying fk about some 24 year old who they hired to restock the shelves anyway.

EDIT: I love the silent disagrees from the immature people who realize I speak the truth but dont like what I had to say. So by closing your ears and sticking your head in the sand, that will somehow change the reality?

Weak. So weak. You are so fail.

[pippoppow]

those people the supposedly were over compensated may have felt the severance was fair or really needed the cash. How much money is the difference in what was meant to be handed out and what was handed out in error. Was it hundreds or thousands? Even if in the thousands big deal. Corporate CEO with their multimillion parachutes are the ones who should give back the money they get not the employees who may get a few thousand. Besides the money may have been spent so what now? I'm sure people in need of the money will deal with the black list dilemma just fine.

[Sayai jin]

@Le Idiotce-If someone worked for MS I doubt they are trying to get a job at Wendy's. Well, to think about it with todays economic climate people have taken lower paying jobs.

[Sayai jin]

@cayal-Most companies are going to try to recoup the money they think they are owed, period. It is still messed up to say the least.

I will tell you what is really messed up. Imagine losing your job, because you refused to put your child in a orphanage (the equivalent). While I lived in Japan, my company brought gifts for Japanese children in a something like a orphanage. To our surprise nost if not all of these children ha parents, some of who were there when we brought the gifts. These children were not in need (financially speaking), but they were put in there because their parent(s) worked 5 to 7 days a week up to 12 to 18 hours a day. So you can call it a orphanage/boarding school. One of my counterparts said that he was given an ultimatum to either put his child in this orphanage/school or he would be let go. So he quit his old job and found his current job.

Back on topic, I do not know how this relates to gaming news, but articles like these highlight the wrong doings and lend a louder voice for those who can not speak.

[DrWan]

but how does this relate to PS3 and Xbox again? Its like saying Sony Life insurance branch lost money this year...err (i didn't read the article either)

[dericb11]

This is in the "Industry" section. N4G is not only a gaming site. Its sad you made a account and commented but forgot to look up the section you are in.

[thenickel]

And it's also sad when people like yourself comment back to people just to be an a-hole. N4G is news for gamers and no matter how you twist it this has nothing to with gaming.

[DrWan]

Then why is it tag PS3 and X360, obviously not very news worthy and trying to maximize hit coverage.

And thank you, i think i can read just as much as everyone. but i refuse to give the guy traffic.

[Wolf873]

let people have it as a gift for goodness sake. It takes a seriously selfish person/ company to ask for money back like that. Those laid off workers who would definitely need the extra cash during these economic crisis. They are a software giant which makes billions, can't they think of it as a community service or aid? If its little than couple of 100s of thousands of dollars, it would be nice to forgive it, but perhaps if its a big loss than asking for money back would make sense.

[gta2800]

That's sad. Even sadder is the fact that 360 fan boys still continue defending Microsoft even after RROD and sh*t like this.

[thenickel]

1st off 360 fans don't defend the rrod and stick with it only because they still prefer it over other consoles. You make it sound like MS is the only company that screws people over or something lol. We get screwed over so many times in different ways, and all you can do is complain about MS like a little wussy. Why don't you get out there and complain about bigger issues rather than being a complete idiotic fanboy who blames MS for freaking everything. I think it's screwed for them if they take the money back, but then again if it was to much then it was to much. This whole give everything away free because you have the money mentality is just retarded.

[gta2800]

"1st off 360 fans don't defend the rrod and stick with it only because they still prefer it over other consoles."

I never said they defend the RROD. I said they defend Microsoft after having the RROD, even if they had it more than once. If I bought a product from any company and the product was faulty and the company knowingly sold the faulty product, I would never buy a product from that company again. Yea, they extended their warranty but not because they were considerate or because they wanted to. They had to! otherwise they would of had to deal with tons of lawsuits.

"You make it sound like MS is the only company that screws people over or something lol. We get screwed over so many times in different ways, and all you can do is complain about MS like a little wussy."

Yes, I know Microsoft isn't the only company that screws people over. So I'm not "acting" like they're the only ones. When did I say they were the only ones?

"Why don't you get out there and complain about bigger issues rather than being a complete idiotic fanboy who blames MS for freaking everything."

I'm not complaining about anything. I just said it was messed up and that it's sad that people still defend Microsoft after the sh*t they do. It's like those women that get beaten by a man in a relationship. They get physically abused all the time, but they never do anything to put a stop to it. And I'm not not an idiotic fan boy. You're the one that's coming off as one since you're getting mad because I said it was sad what Microsoft did. You're probably one of those 360 fan boys I was talking about.

"This whole give everything away free because you have the money mentality is just retarded."

Yup, it's only retarded cause Microsoft is the one asking for money back. Had this been Sony you would have been saying how bad Sony is.

[Megaton]

Your company is worth multi-billions, and you're trying to take miscalculated severance cash back from newly jobless ex-employees during a recession? Amazes me how these guys have loyal lapdogs of any piece of their product line with all the dirty, shameful crap they've been pulling over the years. No low is too low for the big M.

[xabmol]

Americas shining example of big business.

[velaxun]

yet another plus for capitalism... god bless america

[SprSynJn]

But do you know the average CEO of an American company makes more than 100 times his average blue collar employee does, yet the average Japanese CEO only makes 10 times more? I am sure the numbers have widened in both cases since the time I learned of those astonishing facts. Something to really think about isn't it?

[candystop]

I bet you stay in America too you freaking douche. Don't hate on my country because you think yours or others can do it better.

Edit spy: Instead of worrying about what ceo's in the USA make why don't you ask yourself why others don't try and make there own money sheesh.

[velaxun]

canada CAN do it better. Free health care b!tch, and we're not controlled by the corporations. Hell, Cuba's better than america, I don't know what you guys see in that god forsaken cuntry you live in. The only good thing you have going is Obama, other than that, just a bunch of inbred war mongers

[lowcarb]

You guys would be speaking German right now if it wasn't for us and no free health care dumb idiot. Also I'm sure the world would be a safer place if we all kept your senseless way of thinking. You better be glad the USa is here because if not your little view on life would be different you jerk racist.

[fear88]

I'd think Canada does have a lot of things we can learn from. They are the closest thing to a European lifestyle with adequate healthcare. In fact even their court system is less tied up because of the healthcare industry not being leeches onto the masses. Not to mention the insurance industry is non-existent because contrary to America, Canada does take care of its actual citizens. Maybe you can parade the American flag on your car like an idiot, but still America fails in comparison to Canada and their structure of Government, Economics, and Healthcare.

[SprSynJn]

"Edit spy: Instead of worrying about what ceo's in the USA make why don't you ask yourself why others don't try and make there own money sheesh."

What?

[xabmol]

I can't stand the fact that our country was taken hostage in 1913 by the banking system. Now every American is a slave. The federal income tax pays for nothing, no roads, no war equipment, no schools, nothing, but the tax for the use of our own paper money. The "Federal Reserve" is a privately owned business.

Every day more and more rights are being stripped away and thanks to our grate leader George W. Bush we now live in a dictatorship.

Ever wonder why the fasci(symbol of fascism) hangs in our congress building?

I am proud to be an American. But I am NOT proud of America. In fact, I say we need a civil war. The government should be afraid of the people not the other way round.

[evrfighter]

I live in CALIFORNIA also. But please STFU before you embarrass us anymore. Learn to spell what state you fuggin live in before you go on a rant about how un"Grate" <---wtf? president Bush was. Though I agree, Bush is an idiot.

Lay off the Alex Jones videos for awhile and try not to be the definition of why the U.S had to come up with the "No Child Left Behind" law.

[xabmol]

LoL I'm actually a result of the No Child Left Behind law. Those tests are just too easy now.

Thanks for the spelling lesson though. I was a little stoned. Gotta love Cali medicinal. =D

Oh, I'm not a fan of Alex Jones. I'm a Ron Paul fan.

[Theoneneo81]

WOW this is a utter disgrace this is why i hate MS

[Dawn_Of_Ashes]

hahahah and what will happen if people say nay to that? they will bring people to court?

[labaronx]

If Microsoft takes these people to court (which they will lose), I wonder how they are going to spin this to the media to avoid backlash

[XxZxX]

with what? sorry I miscalculate doesnt work in court.

[Theoneneo81]

knowing MS probally yes if they are doing this already

[DJ]

"Man, our profits our down. Hey, why don't we demand money from the employees we fired last month? Yeah, that's a surefire way to boost profits and popularity!"

[PS360PCROCKS]

Oh DJ, your hate for Microsoft runs as deep as the great blue ocean, I'm sure you love this article.