Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to around 60,000 employees

Microsoft confirmed a Voluntary Exit Offer open to about 60,000 employees in four countries. It is a new programme for the company, with terms similar to standard severance.

Microsoft confirmed to TechCrunch on 26 October that it is offering buyouts to around 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its workforce of 223,000. Business Insider reported the news first.

The offer covers staff at vice president level and below on selected teams in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. According to Bloomberg, divisions such as Xbox, Windows, Copilot and Finance are taking part, while some staff, including those in data centres and in sales and marketing, are excluded. The terms are similar to Microsoft's standard severance. In a note to employees, chief people officer Amy Coleman wrote that the offer is new for Microsoft and that the company will learn from it.

A voluntary offer lets Microsoft shrink its workforce without announcing mass layoffs. Earlier this year it offered buyouts to retirement-age employees, and Bloomberg reports that more than 30% of the roughly 8,750 who were eligible accepted.

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