NEW YORK, Jan 22: US software giant Microsoft announced on Thursday it was cutting up to 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months as a slow economy and weak spending on technology sent quarterly profit lower.

Releasing its results for the second quarter of its fiscal year, Microsoft said its net profit fell by 11 per cent.

“While we are not immune to the effects of the economy, I am confident in the strength of our product portfolio and soundness of our approach,” Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said in a statement.

“We will continue to manage expenses and invest in long-term opportunities to deliver value to customers and shareholders, and we will emerge an even stronger industry leader than we are today,” he said. “In light of the further deterioration of global economic conditions” Microsoft said it was eliminating “up to 5,000 jobs in R&D, marketing, sales, finance, legal, HR, and IT over the next 18 months, including 1,400 jobs today.” —AFP