Microsoft buyouts: 60,000 staff eligible for exit

Microsoft has opened a voluntary exit window for approximately 60,000 employees, a move that affects roughly 27% of its global workforce of 223,000 people. The offer is available to staff in the United States, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom who hold experience levels of 70 or below. The company announced the program on Monday, citing the need to balance its massive investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure with capital efficiency.

The scale of the offer reflects the financial pressure associated with Microsoft's rapid expansion into AI. The company is building out data centers to meet high computing demand for clients such as OpenAI and Anthropic. Capital expenditures for the September quarter are expected to exceed $50 billion, a sharp increase from the $34.9 billion spent in the same quarter a year ago. This spending surge has strained financial metrics, with free cash flow for the second quarter falling 23% year over year to $19.64 billion, despite remaining positive unlike rivals Alphabet and Amazon.

This initiative follows a series of workforce adjustments this year. In April, Microsoft introduced a voluntary retirement program that was accessible to 7% of U.S. employees. In July, the company announced layoffs affecting 4,800 positions. More than 30% of those eligible for the earlier retirement program accepted the offer, according to data released in July. The current buyout program extends eligibility higher in the hierarchy, reaching the vice president level, compared to the senior director level covered by the previous program.

Amy Coleman, Microsoft's executive vice president and chief people officer, described the new offer as part of the company's evolving approach to organizational change. In a memo to staff, she stated, "The Voluntary Exit Offer reflects an important part of how we're evolving our approach to change: creating greater flexibility and, where possible, more ways for employees to shape their next chapter." She noted that the program builds on lessons learned from the earlier voluntary retirement effort.

The company is currently transforming its business model to charge clients based on actual AI usage. It has deployed AI tools across programming, sales, and supply chain teams, observing measurable results from these changes. Microsoft aims to retain the talent necessary to pursue new growth opportunities while maintaining a strong financial profile. Some marketing, sales, and engineering teams have opted out of the new buyout program, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the internal process.

Employees must decide whether to accept the offer by early December. Those who participate will leave the company on December 31. The company has not set a specific target number of departures for this round. Microsoft is scheduled to report its third-quarter financial results on Wednesday.