Microsoft Offers Voluntary Exits to Up to 60,000 Employees

Microsoft has launched a broad voluntary separation program, reportedly open to as many as 60,000 employees in the US, UK, Canada and India. The company has roughly 223,000 staff in total, and the offer is aimed at reducing headcount without resorting to a new round of layoffs. It marks a new phase in Microsoft's efforts to shrink its workforce.

In a message to employees, Amy Coleman, Microsoft's head of human resources, said the program gives staff financial support and career planning resources along with the opportunity to leave the company. Rather than a forced departure, the offer gives employees a choice they can make for themselves.

Which teams are covered

According to sources familiar with the matter, the offer applies across many parts of the company. Employees on the AI experiences, Copilot, CoreAI, Windows and devices, Xbox, finance and human resources teams can take part. The cloud and AI group, the MicrosoftAI team, and the corporate, external and legal affairs units are only partially included.

Employees in marketing, commercial business, discovery and quantum, and security are excluded. The program is also said not to target commercial sales teams. The offer is therefore not spread evenly across the company: some teams are fully covered, some partly, and others left out entirely.

How it differs from earlier moves

The offer follows Microsoft's layoff of 4,800 employees a few months ago, which mainly affected Xbox and commercial sales teams. A report also claims that Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is planning further layoff rounds, though the company has not confirmed that claim.

The new program also differs markedly from the voluntary retirement program the company introduced earlier this year. That offer was open to only about 9,000 people and was limited to certain levels in the US, covering employees whose age and years of service added up to 70 or more. According to a note on the company's internal HRweb site, the new offer is not based on age, tenure or performance, which opens it to a far wider pool of employees.

What the company says and what could come next

Coleman's note stressed that a voluntary separation offer is new for Microsoft and that the company will learn from it. It added that Microsoft will keep helping people focus on the most important work, build new skills and, where appropriate, find new opportunities within the company. A single approach does not fit every team or employee, the note said. Coleman described the program as one way to meet differing business needs while continuing to offer employees opportunities to grow and contribute.

In its statement on the internal site, the company also said it may consider another voluntary separation offer in the future where business and workforce needs call for it. That suggests the program may not be a one-time event.