Microsoft biffs the severance-payout math

The proverbial adding of insult to injury was underway at Microsoft this week, only they seem to be having some trouble over there with the whole "adding" concept: TechCrunch is reporting that a number of laid-off Microsoft folk have received letters informing them that they were paid out too much severance... and please send the money back, kthx.

TechFlash has TC's back on this one, getting a Microsoft Saturday confirmation that yeah, the letters are real. (Your writer sends her personal sympathies to TF blogger John Cook; it was an awfully pretty day in Seattle to be working.) It's certainly a pickle for the company, entirely aside from the unknown amount of money involved -- press the issue and take a serious publicity hit, don't go after the cash and risk cranky shareholders. Seems nothing's ever easy in Redmond.