Software giant Microsoft has decided that while the economy is in the tank, its employees are not allowed to get tanked up.

For a while Redmond has run a bar for its employees on campus. However the software maker has confirmed it has canceled plans to have a bar as part of an expansion of its Redmond campus.

Thirsty workers had been waiting for the pub to open for more than a year, along with a collection of restaurants and stores that were due to open next week as part of the company's new headquarters for its Entertainment and Devices unit.

However a spokesman for Microsoft said that the company was "sensitive to the business environment and that meant not having a pub."

Redmond has cut 5,000 jobs amid the broad economic downturn and cutting vendors, travel, and other expenses as it looks to trim costs. The bar, which was due to open on Monday, already had been outfitted with its beer taps, and workers had been hired. (Hm, maybe we could buy it now. The bar, not Microsoft. sub.ed.)