Microsoft is offering voluntary exit packages to around 60,000 employees across the UK, US, Canada and India, giving eligible staff the option to leave the company with financial support as the technology giant continues to reshape its workforce.
The Voluntary Exit Offer, announced on Monday, 26 October, is available to eligible employees at internal level 70 and below in participating organisations. The scheme follows workforce reductions and an earlier voluntary retirement programme, as Microsoft continues to invest heavily in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
Microsoft's official announcement did not cite AI investment as a reason for the offer. Instead, Chief People Officer Amy Coleman described it as a way to give employees more flexibility and help participating teams adapt to changing business needs.
Microsoft Buyout Offer Covers Around 27% of Workforce
Around 60,000 employees are eligible for the offer, according to Business Insider and GeekWire. That represents roughly 27% of Microsoft's 223,000 full-time employees as of 30 June, before subsequent job cuts. Eligibility does not mean all those employees will leave.
Microsoft said the programme is limited to participating teams in the UK, US, Canada and India. Participation varies according to each organisation's business priorities, customer commitments and workforce needs.
BREAKING: Microsoft $MSFT is offering voluntary exit packages to roughly 60,000 of its employees.
— Financelot (@FinanceLancelot) October 26, 2026
The cost cutting effort potentially affects up to 27% of Microsoft’s total workforce of 223,000 people.
"The Voluntary Exit Offer reflects an important part of how we're evolving… pic.twitter.com/rlxzyHXZgI
In her announcement, Coleman said the offer was designed to give employees considering a future outside the company another option.
'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.
She added that it would give participating organisations 'another way to adapt their workforce to changing needs'.
The scheme extends to internal level 70, including general managers and some employees with vice president titles, although corporate vice presidents are excluded. Unlike the earlier voluntary retirement programme, the new offer has no age or length-of-service requirement, and employee performance is not a factor, according to GeekWire.
Not all teams are participating. GeekWire reported that Microsoft's sales organisation, some engineering groups and certain corporate functions are excluded.
Eligible employees have until the first week of December to decide whether to accept the offer, with departures scheduled for the end of the year, according to GeekWire.
What Will Microsoft Employees Receive?
The offer follows Microsoft's standard severance arrangements, with individual packages varying according to seniority and length of service. Business Insider reported that the detailed payment terms are based on the company's existing US severance policies.
Employees at internal levels 64 and below receive one week of base pay for every six months of service, while those at levels 65 to 67 receive two weeks of base pay for every six months worked, according to offers reviewed by Business Insider.
For employees at level 67 and below, standard severance is capped at 39 weeks of base pay. Level 68 employees receive 12 months of salary under the reported US terms.
Eligible employees may also receive continued stock vesting, healthcare coverage for a fixed period and career transition services. However, the new offer does not include the extended healthcare coverage that was a major attraction of Microsoft's earlier retirement programme, according to GeekWire.
The company has not published a single package amount for all participants, so individual payouts will depend on the applicable terms.
Buyouts Follow Earlier Retirements and Job Cuts
The new programme follows Microsoft's Voluntary Retirement Program earlier this year, which was available to approximately 8,750 US employees based on age and length of service. Around 30% accepted that offer, according to GeekWire.
Chief People Officer Amy Coleman told GeekWire that the earlier programme helped reduce the scale of the job cuts announced in July. Microsoft cut around 4,800 jobs that month, followed by hundreds more across the company in September, according to the publication.
The latest offer does not replace layoffs, which Microsoft has said will remain an option depending on business conditions. The company has also said it will continue helping employees develop skills and explore other opportunities within Microsoft where appropriate.
The offer comes as Microsoft and other major technology companies commit substantial resources to AI infrastructure, including data centres. However, Microsoft has not identified AI spending or automation as the reason for this particular programme.
Microsoft has not disclosed how many employees it expects to accept the packages. GeekWire reported that the company anticipates a smaller proportion of eligible employees will take the new offer than accepted the earlier retirement programme.
Microsoft told Business Insider it has no current plans for another buyout programme. The number of employees who ultimately leave under the latest offer remains uncertain.
