Microsoft on Monday, October 26, offered voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees, more than a quarter of its global workforce, under a program it calls a Voluntary Exit Offer, according to CNBC, TechCrunch and Axios.

Reports differ on eligibility. One account says the offer covers participating teams in Canada, India, the UK and the US at level 70 and below; the Seattle Times, cited by Axios, says it extends to vice presidents and below. Bloomberg reports that Xbox, Windows, Copilot and Finance are participating, while data center and sales and marketing staff are reportedly excluded.

Eligible employees have until early December to decide, and those who accept leave at the end of the year. The terms are reportedly similar to Microsoft’s standard severance.

Microsoft says the program is about placing talent in the right roles rather than cutting headcount, and a spokesperson said AI is not driving the buyouts. The company expects 3% to 5% uptake, based on similar programs. The offer follows a July round of about 4,800 job cuts.

Sources

Image: Building92microsoft.jpg by Coolcaesar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Illustrative photo; it does not show the events described.