Microsoft steps in to rescue Euro staff

THE VOLCANIC ERUPTION in Iceland has done more than just ground aircraft all over Europe. Apparently it also trapped countless Microsoft staff at company headquarters in Seattle.

It seems lots of European employees were visiting Redmond to receive their instructions from the Supreme Vole, Steve Ballmer. While the Euro Voles were recovering in Microsoft's post-Ballmer recovery room, they got the news that they were stuck in Redmond for the foreseeable future.

But Steve apparently didn't like the fact that there were all these spare foreign Voles hanging about. They were making the place look untidy, so he ordered his minions to do something.

When shutting down the volcano proved to be beyond the ability of even Microsoft, the outfit chartered a plane to fly those overseas employees stranded at its headquarters back to Europe.

Apparently the return flight will be full of Microsoft employees who were in Europe at the time of the eruption. It might take some time to round up these US employees who have been enjoying the benefits of European civilisation, culture and superior chocolate and beer.

The Microsoft flight has gone from Seattle to Madrid, which means that some of them will have had to board a lot of trains to get home.

Normal European flight schedules started to return to normal on Wednesday, but with so many planes having been grounded over the past week, it could take days or even weeks to clear the backlog, leaving many businesses with potential staffing disruptions. µ