Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees, a quarter of its workforce
Microsoft has launched a Voluntary Exit Offer for eligible staff in the US, Canada, the UK and India. About 60,000 people, roughly 27% of its 223,000 employees, can take a severance package as the company pours money into AI data centres.
Microsoft announced on Monday, 26 October, a new Voluntary Exit Offer that lets eligible employees leave the company with financial support. In a post on the official Microsoft blog, the company said the offer is open to staff in participating teams in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States, at its internal level 70 and below, which includes general managers and some vice presidents but not corporate vice presidents.
Microsoft did not publish the number of eligible staff, but it told GeekWire that about 60,000 people qualify, and CNBC and Reuters reported the same figure from people familiar with the matter. That is about 27% of the 223,000 people Microsoft employed at the end of June.
The package matches the company's standard severance: base pay linked to tenure and level, continued stock vesting, health coverage for a fixed period and career transition help. There are no age or tenure conditions and performance plays no role. According to CNBC, employees have until early December to decide, and those who accept will leave on 31 December.
Not all divisions are taking part. Reports by The Verge and Reuters say teams such as Xbox, Windows and Devices, Copilot, finance and human resources are offering the deal, while marketing, commercial business and security teams are not. "This offer gives eligible employees who may be considering a future outside the company a new choice to make that transition now with support," Chief People Officer Amy Coleman wrote to staff.
The move comes as Microsoft spends heavily on data centres for artificial intelligence; it said in July that capital spending for the September quarter would top $50 billion. Earlier this year about 30% of the roughly 8,750 US employees offered its first-ever voluntary retirement programme accepted it, and in July the company cut 4,800 jobs. Microsoft said the new offer does not replace layoffs, which remain an option depending on business conditions.