June 15th, 2009
Microsoft to employees: Don't want to use WinMo? You're on your own
Like many large companies, Microsoft has been trimming costs in places in response to the global economic downturn. Those moves included offering pink slips to thousands of employees.
It also means scaling back perks. On the chopping block? Apple iPhone, RIM BlackBerry and Palm Pre service plans.
Regardless if the iPhone or BlackBerry is used for work purposes, Microsoft says if an employee wants to use one, it’s on his or her own dime, according to Business Insider.
The only phones Microsoft will pay for? Windows Mobile-powered smartphones, naturally.
Many companies do not reimburse employees for personal mobile devices, but that wasn’t the case at Microsoft (until now). Moreover, some divisions aren’t affected, such as Microsoft-owned ad agency Razorfish.
But questions remain about the move, such as:
- If it didn’t affect that many staffers, why make the move at all? Just how much money is Microsoft saving if employees pay for the phones? Aren’t data plans fairly similar in price?
- If Windows Mobile is deemed inferior to the competition, what’s the use? Why frustrate employees?
Plus, the move offers a bit of a “Gates: Only Microsoft in the house” flashback, don’t you think?
The policy took effect as part of the broader cost saving measures announced earlier this year, but it poses less a financial question than a cultural one: if Microsoft employees don’t naturally gravitate toward in-house devices (say, the way Google employees do), isn’t that indicative that more work must be done in the mobile department?
Andrew J. Nusca is an associate editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet.
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