Mumbai, May 12: Software giant Microsoft Corporation may lay off more employees around the world if the global economic downturn worsens.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who was in Mumbai on Tuesday as part of an Indian launch of an education initiative, said, “We had said we would lay off about 5,000 people. We are mostly through that process globally and there is still some work to do.”

In India, Microsoft is laying off 1 per cent of its workforce, or about 55 people, as part of its plans to prune its global headcount.

“If the US economy dramatically worsens, we will look at things again,” the Microsoft CEO said.

The Redmond-based company has already said it would continue to hire and create employment opportunities in line with the recovery and growth of the Indian economy.