Microsoft moves forward on plan to lay off 5,000

(AP) -- Microsoft Corp. is pulling the trigger on thousands of the 5,000 job cuts it announced in January.

When Microsoft announced its first-ever companywide layoffs, the software maker cut 1,400 of the jobs it said it would slash, with the rest coming over an 18-month period.

Now after making cuts that were disclosed Tuesday, the software maker says it will be almost finished with the 5,000 layoffs.

Microsoft says the affected workers are split between the U.S. and other countries. They will be given severance packages, and the software maker expects some will be rehired as part of the 2,000 to 3,000 new jobs Microsoft is creating between now and the middle of 2010.

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