Microsoft makes fresh round of job cuts

Microsoft has completed its layoffs ahead of schedule

Microsoft has eliminated around 800 positions in what the company hopes will be the last in its recent series of job cuts.

Microsoft confirmed on Wednesday that it will make the layoffs as part of a move to shed 5,000 jobs in a bid to cut operating costs. The layoffs were originally slated to run until mid-2010, but the firm now believes that the cuts have been completed ahead of schedule.

The initial round of redundancies announced in January were the first significant cuts Microsoft has had to make. The company said that the recession had greatly slowed sales, particularly in the enterprise IT market.

Microsoft has also reduced executive pay and cut spending on marketing in further efforts to save money.

The layoffs follow Microsoft's biggest software release in recent years, and the company will be hoping that the recent rollout of Windows 7 will boost sales and prove to be more popular with consumers than its predecessor, Windows Vista.