LOS ANGELES AND SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft Corp.'s first-ever mass layoffs showed Thursday that even the most rock-steady technology companies are feeling the pain of the global recession.
Consumers and corporations are deciding they can do without the latest computers, software and even cellphones as they grapple with what Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer called a "once-in-a-lifetime set of economic conditions." Worldwide tech spending is projected to fall 3% in 2009 after seven years of growth, according to Forrester Research.
"You're seeing a lot of apprehensiveness across the board," said Allan Krans, a senior analyst at Technology Business Research Inc. "Consumers, businesses -- nobody is spending money that they don't have to spend."
The belt-tightening has filled this quarterly earnings season with inauspicious milestones for such tech bellwethers as Microsoft, Sony Corp., Google Inc., Intel Corp. and EBay Inc.
Microsoft reported declining profit and slower-than-expected revenue growth Thursday and said it would eliminate as many as 5,000 jobs, about 5.5% of its 90,000-employee workforce. The broad job cuts were the 33-year-old company's first, triggered by slumping demand for the personal computers that run its software.
Sony, the Japanese electronics giant, said early Thursday that it expected to post a $1.7-billion annual loss this spring, its first year in the red since 1995.
Google's Web advertising business held up remarkably well against the downturn, but a write-down of some of its struggling investments resulted in the company's first-ever drop in quarterly net income.
Tech companies continue to shed jobs to adjust to the changing economic landscape. Intel, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Motorola Inc., Autodesk Inc. and others have disclosed plans this month to lay off thousands of employees.
"It's almost the exception if you don't announce job cuts this quarter," said Christopher Hickey, an analyst at Atlantic Equities, an independent equity research firm.
So far, Google has spared all its employees but 100 recruiters who lost their jobs last week. And its quarterly earnings report offered a bright spot to match that of Apple Inc., which posted strong sales and profit Wednesday.
Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., said its revenue jumped 18% to $5.7 billion, from $4.8 billion in the year-earlier quarter.
