Microsoft's chief financial officer Chris Liddell has predicted a slow rebound for the world's largest IT software company, as well as the technology sector. The news comes as Microsoft announced it is cutting 5,000 of its workforce, for the first time in its 34-year history. Liddell said: 'Economic activity and IT spend slowed beyond our expectations in the quarter, and we acted quickly to reduce our cost structure and to mitigate its impact.' He added that Microsoft was planning for economic uncertainty to continue 'through the remainder of the fiscal year', The Guardian reports.