What Microsoft announced
Microsoft said Monday that it is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees, according to CBS News. That is roughly one-quarter of its global workforce. Agence France-Presse put the share of eligible workers at around 27%.
The so-called voluntary exit offers are open to eligible employees in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States. To qualify, employees must be at the vice president level or below. Microsoft described the offer as available for a limited period.
Eligible employees were to be notified by email on Monday, Amy Coleman, Microsoft's chief people officer, said in a memo to staff. Some business units are excluded. Bloomberg, citing a company spokesperson, reported that these include employees focused on data centers and those in sales and marketing.
How the company describes the program
In her memo, Coleman framed the program as a choice for workers. "This offer gives eligible employees who may be considering a future outside the company a new choice to make that transition now with support," she said.
According to CBS News, the offer is designed to let mid-level workers leave with financial padding and career-planning resources. It also lets the company save on labor costs.
The AI spending behind the move
The announcement comes as Microsoft invests more heavily in artificial intelligence. Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood told Wall Street analysts on a July earnings call that the company expects to spend $175 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026 alone. That spending includes investments in data centers.
The source material does not say how the buyouts relate to specific AI projects. It does note that the exit program comes while the company is putting more money into the technology.
A year of workforce changes
The new program is the second voluntary buyout offer Microsoft has made to workers this year. In May, the company planned to offer buyouts to about 8,750 people, or 7% of its U.S. workforce, the Associated Press reported. The AP cited two people familiar with the plan who were not authorized to speak publicly about it.
In July, Microsoft said it was cutting 4,800 jobs, about 2% of its global workforce. Many of those affected worked in its Xbox video game business.
Regulatory filings show Microsoft had 223,000 employees globally at the end of June. That was down from 228,000 at the end of 2025. If a large number of eligible workers accept the new offer, headcount could fall further, though the source material does not say how many are expected to take it.
