Microsoft is offering a Microsoft voluntary buyout to about 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its workforce, as it cuts costs and invests in artificial intelligence, according to The Hindu. The company announced the offer on Monday, October 26, 2026.
A Microsoft spokesperson said eligible staff are on select teams in the United States, Canada, India and Britain, and are at vice-president level and below, according to The Hindu. Some groups are excluded, including some data centre, sales and marketing staff.
In a memo to employees, chief people officer Amy Coleman described the Voluntary Exit Offer as an important part of how Microsoft is evolving its approach to change, according to Euronews. The offer is time-limited and includes financial support and career planning resources. Eligible employees were to receive an email with a link to their offers in the coming hours, Euronews reported.
The offer follows an earlier move. In April, Microsoft reportedly offered around 7% of its US workforce the option to retire early, and around 30% of those eligible took it, according to CNBC as cited by The Hindu.
Microsoft had 223,000 employees globally at the end of June, down from 228,000 at the end of 2025, according to regulatory filings reported by Dawn.
The company has also cut jobs this year. Sources disagree on the size of the July cut. Euronews says Microsoft announced around 4,800 roles cut, roughly 2.1% of its global workforce at the time. The Hindu and Dawn say Microsoft cut nearly 5,000 jobs in July, heavily targeting its Xbox division.
The buyouts come as large technology companies spend heavily on AI. According to The Hindu, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta are collectively on track to spend roughly $700 billion this year on AI data centres, chips and computing infrastructure. Microsoft’s 2026 calendar-year spending forecast was cut to $175 billion from $190 billion, The Hindu reported. Chief financial officer Amy Hood said about two-thirds of that spending goes to short-lived assets, mainly chips, according to the same report.
Several points remain unclear. Only three outlets were available for this story. The Hindu and Dawn appear to carry the same wire text, so no independent second source has confirmed the 60,000 figure. The 30% early-retirement take-up comes from CNBC as cited by The Hindu, and CNBC’s original report was not available. Euronews says the offer goes to employees "around the globe," while other sources limit eligibility to select teams in four countries, and the sources do not reconcile this. Microsoft has not yet said its exit deadlines, payment terms or how many staff will accept. No response from employees, unions or workers’ groups was reported.
Microsoft is expected to report quarterly earnings later this week. Eligible employees were to receive offer emails in the coming hours, and the offer is time-limited.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.