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Google and Seagate cut staff while Microsoft weighs options


We woke up this morning to find somebody other than Steve Jobs at the helm of Apple and Palm reigning supreme as the new darling of the tech industry. Unfortunately, it's not the tech bubble year of 1996 -- it's the recession plagued start to 2009. So it's no surprise to hear that Google, Seagate, and Microsoft are all looking to slash operating costs in a quest to remain buoyant. Google (yes, the invincible Google) just laid off 100 recruiters while announcing the closure of a few satellite engineering offices -- a move that will certainly see the loss of at least a few of the 70 or so affected engineers who are unwilling or unable to relocate. Meanwhile Seagate is swinging the axe deep with an announced 6% cut (2,950 people) to its global workforce coupled with executive pay cuts by as much as 25%. And according to sources over at The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is scouring its books for cost savings but is hoping to avoid layoffs. Nevertheless, cuts could be announced as early as next Thursday's earnings call. Hey sock-puppet, how 'bout a dance? We could use some levity right about now.

Read -- Google recruiters
Read -- Google engineering
Read -- Microsoft mulls cuts
Read -- Seagate slashes