Microsoft offers buyouts to about 60,000 employees, a quarter of its workforce
The company aims to curb costs as it spends some $175 billion on AI data centres and chips. Eligible staff have until early December to decide.
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Microsoft is offering about 60,000 employees the option to leave voluntarily with a severance package, more than a quarter of a workforce that stood at 223,000 full-time staff at the end of June, according to company figures. The offer applies to employees in participating teams in the United States, Canada, Britain and India. Chief People Officer Amy Coleman announced it in an internal memo on Monday, saying it gives eligible employees "a new choice to make that transition now with support".
There is no age or tenure requirement and performance is not a factor, technology news site GeekWire reported. Staff up to career level 70, including some vice presidents, are eligible. The package matches Microsoft's standard severance, with base pay tied to tenure and level, continued stock vesting and healthcare coverage for a fixed period. The deadline falls in the first week of December. The sales organisation is not taking part, according to the reports. Microsoft said layoffs remain an option depending on business conditions.
The move comes amid massive spending on artificial intelligence: Microsoft expects capital expenditure of about $175 billion in 2026, mainly for data centres and chips, and investors are increasingly asking whether it will pay off. The company cut about 4,800 jobs in July and ran its first voluntary retirement programme for U.S. staff in the spring. Microsoft reports quarterly results after the market close on Wednesday, which could already include projected costs for the offer.