Is tech hiring on freeze?

Following news of Microsoft's "hiring chill", what are other tech giants' hiring plans?

It's a little hard to get a clear picture of what other companies are doing - in part because so many have already announced plans to cut jobs. Intel's workforce is down thousands from where it was a couple years ago. HP has already said it plans to shave 24,000 jobs as part of its EDS purchase, while Dell and others have also been cutting back.

Yahoo!, already under pressure from competitor Google and the ugly saga of Microsoft's attempt to acquire the company, said Friday that it is bracing itself for a weaker advertising market.

A Yahoo! spokesman said: "We believe it's imperative we align our cost structure with today's economic realities. We've been looking at ways to streamline our processes and bring more efficiencies to how we work as an organisation."

He wouldn't confirm that layoffs are part of the plan but payroll is a major expense.

Though Yahoo! is under pressure itself, the spokesman said the economy and the advertising market led to the current analysis. "The collapse of the credit markets...accelerated what had been a pretty uncertain market," he said.

For its part, Google said: "We continue to hire talented people across functions for our offices worldwide." Of course, the real question is at what pace they continue that hiring.

In a meeting with reporters last week, chief executive Eric Schmidt supplied a big dose of caution about whether there might be effects from the broader economic issues.

Schmidt said: "It's a very dynamic situation. There is evidence credit is a problem for certain sectors. We have not yet seen any impact from it." But, he added, "We might. All bets are off. Nobody knows."

Many expect TV and print advertising to be hit harder but that doesn't mean online ads are immune. Even if individual ads or campaigns are profitable, the ad market can be hurt when customers tighten their purse strings and advertisers reduce spending.

A spokesman for Dell said the company is certainly monitoring things but had nothing new to announce. "But as you know, we've got a well publicised effort under way to reduce costs," he said. Dell has cut 8,500 workers from its ranks in the last four quarters. That said, the spokesman said Dell "will selectively hire in areas that are important".

On the issue of workforce, HP said in a statement: "Workforce rebalancing is a continual activity across our businesses and geographies to ensure that resources are aligned with the opportunities in the market. We expect that our overhead costs, which include IT, real estate and shared support functions, will decline more from [fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2009] than they did from [fiscal 2005 to fiscal 2006]."

An IBM representative said: "We haven't announced any freeze. As of right now, nothing has changed at IBM. We continue to hire in key skills areas."

Microsoft said in a statement: "Microsoft will continue to grow and add thousands of new jobs this year but, given the current economic environment, we are taking the prudent step of reviewing our hiring plans and will make some adjustments as appropriate. We are optimistic about our prospects for growth and will continue hiring the talent we need to ensure our ongoing success."

Intel declined to comment, citing a pre-earnings announcement quiet period.

Apple declined to comment, also citing a pre-earnings quiet period.

Oracle declined to comment.

Original article: Employment outlook gets murkier at tech companies from CNET News.com