By Cole Tretheway
Publication Date: 2026-04-26 09:05:00
Silicon Valley has a job-security problem. The tech sector has ramped-up voluntary layoffs since Google’s Platforms & Devices buyout in January 2025. For the first time, Microsoft appears poised to board the train of tech companies offering buyout packages to employees.
The company is offering about 8,750 people — 7% of its workforce — a buyout package. Those eligible can accept the package and leave the company, says CNBC coverage (1). What’s in the offer won’t be public until May 7.
The buyout seems to target older employees below a certain level in the org chart. To take the offer, the Microsoft employee must be at or below senior director level, and must have 70 years of combined age and tenure.
The rule suggests Microsoft is cutting the highest-earners considered replaceable. It’s a cost-cutting tactic that’s made possible by voluntary layoffs, which allow companies to sidestep age-discrimination accusations while disproportionately targeting senior…
