Does profit have a new meaning?

Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it is cutting 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months — more than 5 percent of its work force — a sign of how badly even the biggest and richest companies are being stung by the recession.

The layoffs appear to be a first for Microsoft, which was founded in 1975, aside from relatively limited staff cuts the software company made after acquiring companies.

The company announced the cuts as it reported an 11 percent drop in second-quarter profit, which fell short of Wall Street's expectations.

Microsoft said profit in the last quarter fell to $4.17 billion, or 47 cents per share, from year-ago earnings of $4.71 billion, or 50 cents per share.

As I read this in the news today I have come to the concrete conclusion that this country is in the predicament we are in because corporations see profits as losses. Microsoft makes a $4bb profit, albeit not as big as last year's, and they deem they need to fire 5,000 people. THEY MADE A FRICKIN PROFIT! They didn't lose $4bb mind you but added to their account. Something is wrong here.

We all screamed when the oil companies were raking in their huge profits. We must start screaming about profit making companies laying off people so they can make a bigger profit next year. Freeze salaries, cut them back a dollar or two an hour but keep them working. I am disgusted by this.