[alisonatwork]

Early in my career I joined a large company right when they went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Worked there for a year, then moved on. They shut down the office where I had worked a year or two after that. I don't regret working there at all. And I doubt Microsoft is even close to the same situation. They employ a couple hundred thousand people, so laying off 1000 is nothing. It's like a 200-headcount company letting go of just one person.

Either way, I think it's fine to join a company that is downsizing, since presumably the area you got hired is a department that isn't part of the downsizing. Of course there are horror stories of people who got laid off immediately after getting hired, but that's just bad luck. Most of the time there is a budget for you, or the position wouldn't be advertized in the first place. If you end up doing valuable work on a valuable team, you should be safe from any cuts - and you can ask those questions during the interview process.

From my perspective, any job where you get paid to work on something interesting and learn new stuff is worth considering.