Microsoft: Oops, We Over-Paid

Do you know what it is like to get kicked in the face after you’ve been beaten half to death? Maybe it’s a bit of an over exaggerated comparison, but I think some recently laid off Microsoft employees do. Imagine if you received a big, fat severance check from Microsoft and then you get a letter in the mail from the company saying “hey we need some of that money back because we over-paid you.” Well, that is exactly what has happened.

A letter, which has been confirmed by Microsoft as authentic, asked former employees for money back. Here’s the choice morsel from that letter - posted on TechCrunch by a perturbed former employee::

“We ask that you repay the overpayment and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience to you.”

The letter goes on to say that those who do not pay back the money will take a tax hit. Microsoft confirmed that the letter was authentic but refrained from commenting; only saying that it was a private matter between the company and individuals who received the letter.

I understand that the company made an accounting error and it wants to recoup the extra money, but for once couldn’t someone at corporate do the right thing and say “screw it, these people need it more than we do.” It would be nice if they did that but obviously it’s not happening.