SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, said Friday it will hire as many as 7,000 employees worldwide in its current business year as it continues to expand and to fill vacant positions.
Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) also said it would increase spending on research and development, excluding equity compensation costs, by 4 percent to $4.8 billion in its fiscal year to June 2005, from $4.6 in fiscal 2004. Including the cost of paying employees in stock, Microsoft spent $6.8 billion on R&D last year, but said that number would be slightly lower at around $6 billion in fiscal 2005 due to the lower costs of issuing stock awards.
The hiring and research spending figures are usually announced at Microsoft's annual financial analysts meeting, scheduled to be held Thursday, July 29, but the company disclosed those figures after announcing earnings Thursday.
Of the total new hires, Microsoft said it expects to add 3,000 employees at its Redmond, Washington headquarters and in the Puget Sound region, but the total net gain in new employees could be lower depending on how many vacant positions need to be filled.
Microsoft has about 28,000 employees in the area and 57,000 worldwide.
"We remain very committed to the region," said Microsoft spokeswoman Tami Begasse.
Microsoft is building facilities in India and has been hiring there as it seeks to lower technical support and development costs.
Outsourcing to India has become a hot topic this year as many high-tech companies turn to the country's growing pool of English-speaking software engineers as a cheaper source of labor. It has also become a political issue in an election year.
"Microsoft has a long term commitment to India," Begasse said, "We're exploring and evaluating new opportunities there."
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