Microsoft offers buyouts to around 60,000 employees

Microsoft is offering buyouts to around 60,000 employees, Business Insider reported on Monday, according to Reuters. The move is the company’s latest effort to reshape its workforce around artificial intelligence, TechCrunch reported, citing Business Insider and Bloomberg.

The Voluntary Exit Offer is open to eligible employees at level 70 and below — vice president level and below — on participating teams in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, Microsoft said in a blog post quoted by Reuters.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the offer would affect key divisions including AI experiences, Copilot, finance, human resources, Xbox and Windows + Devices. The same source said it would exclude units such as marketing, commercial business and security, while TechCrunch reported that data-centre, sales and marketing staff are among those excluded.

Microsoft’s Chief People Officer, Amy Coleman, sent employees a note about the offer on Monday. “This offer gives eligible employees who may be considering a future outside the company a new choice to make that transition now with support,” she wrote, according to TechCrunch.

Microsoft described the programme as time-limited and voluntary, building on insights from a previous voluntary retirement programme. Earlier this year it offered buyouts to retirement-age employees, with more than 30% of the roughly 8,750 eligible workers accepting, TechCrunch reported. Employees taking the new offer will receive benefits similar to a standard severance package, the reports say.

Sources: Reuters · TechCrunch