Microsoft Offers Voluntary Buyouts to About 60,000 Staffers
WHO:
Fortune - Microsoft employed about 223,000 people at the end of June, down 5,000 workers from the same period in 2025.
Fortune - LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky and Chief Communications Officer Frank X. Shaw announced their departures; gaming chief Phil Spencer and Executive Vice President of Experiences and Devices Rajesh Jha retired.
Fortune - Google offered buyouts to select employees, while Amazon cut jobs in its Stores unit.
Euronews.com - Microsoft Chief People Officer Amy Coleman described the “Voluntary Exit Offer” in a memo to staff.
TechCrunch - Microsoft is offering employee buyouts.
GeekWire - Microsoft is offering buyouts to about 60,000 employees, described as about a quarter of its workforce; some executives are included.
Techmeme - Bloomberg reported that the offers apply to workers at vice president level and below.
WHAT:
Fortune - Microsoft’s latest buyout payments will be based on employees’ tenure.
Fortune - Microsoft’s April voluntary buyout was its first such arrangement and was offered to long-tenured employees.
Fortune - Microsoft’s latest offer covers roughly 27% of its workforce.
Fortune - In the United States, the package provides a minimum of eight weeks’ pay, continued stock vesting, health care, and career services; terms vary by country’s labor laws.
Fortune - Employees who accept the offer must leave on Dec. 31.
Fortune - Microsoft reported $41 billion in capital expenditures for the quarter ending in June and projected $145.3 billion in total spending for its 2026 fiscal year.
Fortune - Microsoft had cut more than 15,000 jobs in 2025.
Fortune - Microsoft shares were up about 25% over the past six months.
Euronews.com - The offer includes financial support and career-planning resources; eligible employees were to receive an email with a link to their offer.
Newsweek - Microsoft confirmed that eligible employees would receive voluntary exit offers.
Euronews.com - Microsoft said more than 30% of employees eligible for its early-retirement scheme participated.
Euronews.com - Microsoft announced it was eliminating around 4,800 roles, roughly 2.1% of its global workforce at the time; the cuts mostly affected its commercial and Xbox gaming divisions.
Engadget - The roughly 60,000 employees targeted by the buyout offer represent more than a quarter of Microsoft’s global workforce.
TechCrunch - The buyout offers are part of Microsoft’s efforts to cut costs and rework its workforce.
GeekWire - The package is equivalent to Microsoft’s standard severance.
GeekWire - Microsoft expects a much smaller share of employees to accept the offer than accepted its spring retirement program.
Techmeme - Bloomberg reported that Microsoft’s headcount at the end of June was 223,000.
WHERE:
GeekWire - The offers cover employees in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and India.
Techmeme - Bloomberg reported that the offers cover workers across teams in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom.
WHEN:
Fortune - Eligible employees in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and India must accept by the first week of December.
Fortune - Microsoft is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings on Wednesday.
WHY:
Fortune - Microsoft has been changing its workplace culture and leadership structure amid executive departures as Satya Nadella seeks to compete in enterprise and cloud AI markets.
Fortune - Microsoft said its April buyout program aimed to help the company move faster and simplify operations.
Fortune - Amazon’s job cuts followed the elimination of about 30,000 jobs between late 2025 and early in the year.
Fortune - Microsoft continues to spend heavily on artificial intelligence, including building AI data centers.
TechCrunch - The buyouts are part of Microsoft’s efforts to cut costs and rework its workforce.
Techmeme - Bloomberg described the offers as part of Microsoft’s efforts to trim costs and retool its workforce for the artificial intelligence era.
HOW:
Fortune - A Microsoft spokesperson said similar programs at other major tech companies had seen 3% to 5% employee uptake.
Euronews.com - Coleman said the offer was intended to create greater flexibility and give employees more ways to shape their next chapter.
GeekWire - Employees can accept the voluntary buyout without an age or tenure requirement.
GeekWire - Microsoft expects fewer employees to accept the offer than participated in its spring retirement program.
(UPDATED October 27, 2026 12:01 UTC)
Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees, more than a quarter of its global workforce, as it works to cut costs and reshape staffing for the artificial intelligence era. The offer covers workers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and India, with U.S. employees receiving at least eight weeks’ pay, continued stock vesting, health care and career services; terms vary by country. Eligible employees must accept by the first week of December and leave on December 31, while Microsoft says it expects fewer people to take the offer than joined its spring retirement program.
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(UPDATED October 27, 2026 10:04 UTC)
Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees—more than a quarter of its workforce—in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and India, as it cuts costs and reshapes its workforce for the artificial intelligence era. Eligible U.S. employees would receive at least eight weeks’ pay, continued stock vesting, health care and career services, with terms varying by country; workers who accept must leave on Dec. 31.
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(UPDATED October 27, 2026 04:06 UTC)
Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and India, including workers at vice president level and below. The package matches standard severance and includes career-planning resources, with no age or tenure requirement to accept. Microsoft says the offers are part of its efforts to cut costs and reshape its workforce for the artificial intelligence era, and it expects fewer employees to take them than joined its spring retirement program.
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(UPDATED October 26, 2026 18:01 UTC)
Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees, more than a quarter of its global workforce, including some executives at vice president level and below. The offer covers workers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and India, with no age or tenure requirement, and the package matches Microsoft’s standard severance. The company says the buyouts are part of efforts to cut costs and reshape its workforce for the artificial intelligence era, and it expects fewer employees to accept than joined its spring retirement program.
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(UPDATED October 26, 2026 17:06 UTC)
Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees—roughly a quarter of its workforce—including some executives at vice president level and below. The offers cover workers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and India, with no age or tenure requirement, and the package matches Microsoft’s standard severance. The company says the buyouts are part of efforts to cut costs and reshape its workforce for the artificial intelligence era, and it expects fewer employees to accept than took part in its spring retirement program.