Microsoft has announced a voluntary exit program that targets roughly 60,000 employees, according to Bloomberg. With a total workforce of about 223,000 people, the offer would affect more than a quarter of the company’s global staff. The program is open to employees at the vice‑president level and below, while certain groups, such as teams that manage data centers, are excluded.
TechCrunch reports that the buyout terms mirror Microsoft’s standard severance packages. A tweet from Puget Point Capital shared part of the internal memo, stating, “The Voluntary Exit Offer reflects an important part of how we’re evolving our approach to change: creating greater flexibility and, where possible, more ways for employees to shape their next chapter.”
The initiative appears to be part of a broader effort to reduce costs and reshape the workforce for the company’s push into artificial intelligence. Microsoft has allocated billions of dollars to data‑center and AI infrastructure, with spending reaching nearly $175 billion in 2026 alone, and it has opened close to 90 hyperscale data centers this year. Despite the heavy investment in hardware, the firm has continued to trim its headcount, with recent layoffs reported in the Xbox division and other units.
While the number of employees eligible for the buyout is large, the company has not disclosed how many will actually accept the offer. Earlier this year, a similar voluntary program saw only about 30 percent of eligible workers sign up.