Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees in the U.S., Canada, India and the U.K. [2, 3] That group represents more than a quarter of the company’s global workforce.
The Voluntary Exit Offer is available to employees at the senior leader level and below on select teams. [2, 4] Some sales, data center and engineering groups are excluded. The package is reportedly similar to Microsoft’s standard severance offer. [5]
The move is seen as an effort to reduce costs and reshape the workforce as Microsoft invests heavily in artificial intelligence. [2, 4] It follows smaller, targeted layoffs and a voluntary retirement program earlier in the year. [3, 5] Microsoft is seeking to give employees more flexibility while adapting staffing to changing business needs.