Microsoft Corporation's planned job cuts will affect both American and expatriate workers, the software giant wrote in a reply to Democrat senator Charles Grassley.

The planned job cuts will impact American employees more as foreign workers constitute less than 15 per cent of Microsoft's US workforce', Microsoft general counsel Bradford L Smith wrote in response to a letter from the senator.

Capping intake of foreign workers at less than 15 per cent would prove that the company is not `H-1B dependent.

"Workers on H-1B visas and other temporary work visas make up only a small percentage of our overall workforce, but they were also among the employees impacted by the reductions announced in January," Smith said, adding the company won't base its decisions on an employee's citizenship.

Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft is cutting 5,000 jobs, mostly held by US citizens, who make up a majority of the workforce, Smith clarified.

Smith was replying to a letter written by Grassley to Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer urging that Microsoft save jobs of US citizens when it came to cuts.

In fact, Smith said, foreign workers, although a small percentage of its total workforce, have contributed more to Microsoft's success over the years.

He said the H-1B work visa programme has helped both Microsoft and America to hire the best available talent in the world.

However, the company, would be handing over pink slips to H-1B visa holders too, Smith said.

"Nonetheless, the ability to tap into the world's best minds has long been essential to our success. Although they are a small percentage of our workforce, H-1B workers have long made crucial contributions to Microsoft's innovation successes and to our ability to help create jobs in this country,'' Smith wrote.

"We are confident this will continue to be true in the future," he added.