Microsoft’s 2010 calendar year ended on June 30, 2010. The company is starting off its 2011 fiscal year by streamlining operations. They are kicking off the 2011 calendar year with surprise layoffs – starting right away, according several sources with knowledge of the situation. The layoffs will happen in small groups similar to the IBM layoffs last week and Yahoo layoffs a few weeks ago – this way the company will not have to make a public announcement and employees will not notice a worker here and worker there missing. The layoffs will come as a surprise to many and the company has given no indication that layoffs were in the works.

Microsoft representatives declined to comment, and we weren’t able to find out which groups inside the company will be impacted.