Microsoft Offers Voluntary Exit Packages to 60,000 Staff Amid AI Push

Microsoft has offered voluntary exit packages to about 60,000 employees, representing more than a quarter of its global workforce, as the software maker tries to balance heavy spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure with capital efficiency, Radarr Africa reported.

Chief people officer Amy Coleman announced the time-limited programme in a memo to staff on Monday, October 26, telling eligible employees they would receive an email link with their offers in the coming hours, according to Euronews. The scheme applies to staff at experience level 70 and below—or vice-president level and below, according to BNN Bloomberg—across select teams in the United States, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. Microsoft employed 223,000 full-time workers at the end of June, down from 228,000 at the close of 2025, regulatory filings show.

Targeted Teams and Exclusions

According to an unnamed source cited by Reuters and reported by Nairametrics, the units covered by the exit packages include AI experiences, Copilot, finance, human resources, Xbox, and Windows and Devices. Marketing, the commercial business, and security are excluded from the programme. BNN Bloomberg noted that certain employees working on data centres, sales, and marketing are similarly left out of the buyout terms.

Coleman stated in her internal memo that the initiative provides participating organisations with another method to adapt their workforce to changing needs, while helping employees considering a future outside Microsoft to make the transition with support. The company noted that the package builds on lessons learned from an earlier voluntary retirement scheme.

Prior Cuts and the AI Spending Push

The current exit offer follows a series of workforce reductions and voluntary programmes throughout the year. In April, Microsoft introduced a voluntary retirement programme for about 7% of its U.S. workforce, roughly 9,000 employees. CNBC reported that about 30% of those eligible accepted it. That was followed in July by job cuts affecting approximately 4,800 workers, or 2.1% of the global staff at the time, which Nairametrics tied to restructuring the Xbox business and divesting up to five studios.

The latest buyouts arrive as major technology firms pour immense capital into AI infrastructure. BNN Bloomberg reported that Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta are on track to spend roughly $700 billion on AI infrastructure this year. Microsoft reported $41 billion in spending from April to June and anticipated spending $50 billion from July to September, according to CNBC. Chief financial officer Amy Hood told analysts that roughly two-thirds of that expenditure goes toward short-lived assets, primarily chips, driven by customer demand for both AI and non-AI infrastructure.

Deadlines and Market Context

While none of the initial reports specified payout amounts, Euronews noted that the programme includes financial support and career planning resources. Employees must decide whether to accept the offer by early December, with participants scheduled to leave on December 31, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by CNBC.

The broader technology sector has experienced widespread headcount reductions this year. Oracle shed about 21,000 employees over the prior year, Meta notified workers of about 8,000 planned job cuts in May, and Amazon announced 16,000 cuts in January, alongside reductions at Uber, Netflix, and eBay. A July report cited by Nairametrics found that the ten largest tech layoff announcements globally affected more than 76,000 workers.

Microsoft was scheduled to report its quarterly earnings later in the week, as investors scrutinise whether the company’s massive artificial intelligence investments will yield sufficient returns.

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