We once remarked that Microsoft’s (MS) lawyers must have apprenticed at the venerable old firm of Scrooge and Marley. Now, we suspect their accountants did, too…

It’s bad enough to be among the tens of thousands in the computer, software and consumer electronics industries being laid off around the world these days, as the economy continues to suffer.

But what a slap in the face, to be told by your former employer that they want some of your severance pay back!

That’s just what happened to some laid-off Microsoft (MS) employees last week. The problems surfaced this past weekend, when MS admitted that some former workers had been over- or under-compensated by an average of (US)$4,000 to $5,000.

In a statement earlier this week, MS said…

Last week, 25 former Microsoft employees were informed that they were overpaid as a part of their severance payments from the company. This was a mistake on our part. We should have handled this situation in a more thoughtful manner. We are reaching out to those impacted to relay that we will not seek any payment from those individuals.

MS also confirmed that it is quickly reimbursing underpaid former employees.