REDMOND, Wash. (Diya TV) — Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees—roughly 27% of its global workforce—in four countries, as the company expands its artificial intelligence business and adjusts staffing across selected teams.
The Voluntary Exit Offer covers eligible employees in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. Microsoft Chief People Officer Amy Coleman announced the program Monday, saying it gives workers considering a move outside the company financial support and career-planning resources. She said participating organizations can use the offer to adapt to changing business needs.
Microsoft will offer the program to employees at internal job level 70 and below, but eligibility depends on the employee’s team and location. Some organizations will participate and others will not; Microsoft said business priorities, customer commitments and staffing needs will guide those decisions. The company will email eligible employees directly. They have until early December to decide, and those who accept will leave at year-end. The offer does not require a particular age or length of service.
The company has not said how many employees it expects to take the offer. About 223,000 full-time employees worked at Microsoft at the end of June, according to its latest reported headcount. The 60,000 figure represents the pool of potentially eligible employees, not planned job cuts.
The package follows Microsoft’s standard severance terms, with benefits varying by job level, location and tenure. Offers reviewed by Business Insider included continued health coverage and stock vesting, as well as severance pay based on each employee’s circumstances. Microsoft has not published a single payout amount for all participants.
The new program follows two workforce moves earlier this year. In April, Microsoft offered a retirement-focused buyout to about 8,750 U.S. employees, or roughly 7% of its domestic workforce. In July, the company announced about 4,800 job cuts, including reductions in its Xbox business. Those earlier actions differed from the new offer, which reaches eligible employees across four countries and does not impose age or service requirements.
Microsoft’s announcement comes as it invests heavily in data centers, computing equipment and AI products. Those investments support services such as Azure and Copilot, which the company is integrating across its cloud and software offerings. But Microsoft has not said the buyouts directly result from AI spending; Coleman described the offer as a way to give employees options and help participating teams respond to changing needs.
The company is scheduled to report quarterly earnings Wednesday. Investors will be watching for details on revenue growth, cloud demand and the cost of expanding AI infrastructure, as well as any indication of how Microsoft plans to balance investment with workforce and operating expenses.
