By DPA
Publication Date: 2026-04-24 09:08:00
Microsoft is rolling out voluntary buyouts for some of its US employees, a first for the 51-year-old tech giant as it adjusts to the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI).
The one-time retirement programme is open to eligible workers at the senior director level and below who have a combined age and years of service totalling at least 70.
Some 7% of Microsoft’s US workforce meets this criterion, as per a source familiar with the situation.
Employees are set to receive detailed information on May 7, but those on sales incentive plans won’t qualify.
The initiative comes as Microsoft increases its spending on data centres to meet the rising demand for AI-driven cloud services, a trend that’s also being seen in companies like Alphabet and Amazon.
At the same time, the software industry as a whole is facing challenges, especially with new AI…