Microsoft partner Software Spectrum cuts 350 jobs as a result of offshore pressures from Redmond.
Software support provider Software Spectrum iis cutting 350 jobs over the next few months as a result of a loss of a support deal with Microsoft.
Software Spectrum, a subsidiary of Level 3, notified its employees on Monday that it will be reducing its Spokane workforce from July 11 to the end of September as a result of a "loss of a major contract," confirmed Alison Eldred, human resources manager.
Eldred said that Software Spectrum will no longer provide technical support services for any Microsoft products after September.
A Microsoft spokeswoman said that Microsoft had been exploring the possibility of "international growth" with Software Spectrum for months. But within the next five months, Microsoft has decided to transition product support formerly provided by Software Spectrum to other vendors working offshore. She declined to offer further details or names of specific vendors.
Eldred said that Software Spectrum currently offers "an offshore solution," but that Microsoft didn"t consider it "viable."