SEATTLE (AP) — A few weeks after launching the first wide-scale layoffs in its history, Microsoft Corp. admits it screwed up a key part of the plan.

The company is asking some laid-off employees for a portion of their severance back, saying an administrative glitch caused the software maker to pay them too much.

Lou Gellos, a Microsoft spokesman, would not say how many of the 1,400 workers let go in January were overpaid, or by how much. Microsoft has said severance would be calculated by length of service and position in the company.

The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker is asking former employees for reimbursement, by check or money order, within two weeks, according to a redacted letter posted by the technology blog TechCrunch. Gellos confirmed the letter’s authenticity.

With the recession biting into sales of Microsoft’s core Office and Windows software, Microsoft said in January it would let up to 5,000 of its 94,000 employees go, the only mass layoff in its 34-year history.

Shares of Microsoft sank 54 cents, or 3 percent, to $17.46 in afternoon trading amid a broader sell-off Monday.

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Originally posted 2009-02-23 18:03:19.

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A few fortunate gamers were able to pick up copies of the next Halo game, Halo 3: ODST, when a French retail store inadvertently put the game — which isn’t due to release until September 22 — up for sale last week. Copies turned up for download on file-sharing networks shortly thereafter, but there’s a nasty surprise in store for any Xbox 360 owners who tries to play them.

According to the Twitter feed of Xbox Live’s Policy and Enforcement Director, anyone spotted playing downloaded copies of the game on Xbox Live faces a permanent ban from the service.

“Hrm. I spy with my little eye some *illegitimate* ODST players. No early play for you. Commencing permabans,” he said yesterday. He later clarified that those who bought legitimate copies early will not be punished.

“If a user happens to purchase a legit copy of Halo 3: ODST early, then our problem is not with the user but the retailer who broke the street date. Those individuals will not be punished,” he told Kotaku.

Microsoft is also known to ban users from Xbox Live for modifying their consoles, cheating, offensive behavior, or fraud.

So if you’re jonesing for a look at ODST, but you’re not one of the few fortunate individuals to have secured a legitimate copy early, we highly recommend you make do with this awesome, just-released trailer instead.

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Originally posted 2009-09-09 09:04:10.

Popularity: 1% [?]