Microsoft may implement the cost-saving plan as early as January 2009 to offset the impact of the global sales slowdown. According to foreign media reports, however, informed sources said that Microsoft would implement the cost-saving plan mainly through natural attrition and not renewing contracts with contract workers rather than rumored large-scale layoffs. Since a blog post claimed that Microsoft planned to cut up to 15,000 employees (about 17% of the total number of employees), rumors about Microsoft's layoffs have been widespread. An insider at Microsoft said that this rumor was "grossly exaggerated", but pointed out that "any company that does not pay attention to the number of employees under the current situation is simply absurd."