In the wake of thousands of layoffs at Microsoft, Todd Bishop has found what he called an "overabundance" of Microsoft shirts in Seattle thrift stores this weekend. Writing for TechFlash, Mr. Bishop called the shirts, "a fun glimpse into the company's internal culture and mindset."
"One of my favorite weekend activities is perusing the Seattle region's thrift stores," Mr. Bishop wrote. "I noticed something interesting on Sunday-- an overabundance of Microsoft t-shirts. A lot more than I've noticed before. There were dozens at one Goodwill alone."
He also noted that his observations were unscientific, at best, as he hadn't counted shirts in the past. His conclusion is that being reminded of a lost job is as good a reason as any other for getting rid of company shirt.
Microsoft announced plans in January to layoff up 5,000 people over the next 18 months. In the full article, Mr. Bishop posted several pictures of the shirts he had been able to find, including this beauty, which reads, "Think your iPhone is cool? Let me show you a thing or two about Windows Mobile."
 One of Todd Bishop's thrift store find in Seattle. |
[Editor's note: These are tough times, and we, by no means, want to make light of those laid off from Microsoft, or any other company. The things we found most interesting about this are: A.) The lameness of some of the shirts, and B.) the (admittedly unscientific) idea of using the number of shirts as a measure of the fortunes of a company.]