By Jill Goldsmith
Publication Date: 2026-10-26 21:15:00
Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to more than a quarter of its staff, some 60,000 people, as it looks to defray the cost of AI and data center spending.
The buyouts will be offered to staffers at the vice president level or below in the U.S., Canada, India and the U.K. The Xbox, Windows, Copilot and finance divisions could be impacted.
Workers who accept the buyouts will receive benefits similar to a standard severance package. Employees have until early December to decide if they want to offer, and would exit Dec. 31 if they do.
Microsoft, which reports quarterly earnings Wednesday, has a total workforce of about 223,000.
“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,” Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s executive vice president and chief people officer, wrote in a memo to employees on the…
