Microsoft makes severance pay blunder

Microsoft has overpaid a certain number of employees recently made redundant

An embarrassing miscalculation by Microsoft has resulted in the firm having to ask recently laid-off employees to pay back parts of their severance pay.

Microsoft, one of the world's richest companies, has apparently overpaid a certain number of employees recently made redundant and, according to a letter posted on TechCrunch, has asked for its money back.

"This letter is to inform you that an inadvertent administrative error occurred that resulted in an overpayment in severance pay by Microsoft. We ask that you repay the overpayment, and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience to you," reads the document.

The software giant recently slashed its workforce by 5,000 employees, 1,400 of whom left their jobs on 22 January. To make matters worse, Microsoft has also apparently underpaid others.

Miscalculating severance pay is not only awkward for the firm, but a painful and discomforting experience for the employees concerned, reflecting badly on the company. With layoffs a daily feature in the current economic climate, blunders like these only add attention and rub salt in an already painful wound.

It is not clear how many people the Microsoft payment slip-up has affected, but it is thought to be a significant number.