A week off from work isn’t much of a vacation when you aren’t getting paid, which I’m sure Microsoft’s 1,000+ contract workers thought at the beginning of the month. See the news story: “Microsoft: Take a week off–unpaid.”

According to the article, “Microsoft asked half of the technology vendors it uses for software development to defer seven business days worth of work… The software giant emphasized it was not over-budget, but certain divisions needed to pare back some costs in order to stay on budget. Microsoft said these types of cut-backs are a common way for technology companies to manage costs.”

“Cut-backs” and “Microsoft” aren’t ordinarily used in the same sentence. Is Microsoft officially losing its grip as a leader in the IT industry?