Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees — roughly a quarter of its workforce — while it continues to spend heavily on artificial intelligence (AI).
A Microsoft spokesperson said the offer covers staff on select teams in the United States, Canada, India and Britain. Eligibility runs at vice president level and below. Some groups are left out, including some people working on data centres and in sales and marketing.
Who can take the voluntary exit
The programme is framed as a choice, not an automatic dismissal. Staff who qualify can decide whether to accept the buyout. Those on excluded teams are not part of this round, according to the company.
Amy Coleman, an executive vice president and chief people officer, told employees in a memo that the Voluntary Exit Offer is meant to create “greater flexibility” and, where possible, “more ways for employees to shape their next chapter.”
Cost cuts alongside AI spending
Microsoft said the buyouts are meant to reduce costs at the same time as it pours money into AI. That mix — trimming headcount through voluntary exits while expanding AI investment — is the core of this week’s announcement for the global tech sector.
A spokesperson also confirmed that this is the second voluntary buyout offer Microsoft has extended to employees this year. The company did not, in the material available here, publish separate figures for how many people took the earlier offer.
What happens next
Eligible workers in the named countries will weigh the terms of the exit package against staying in their roles. Teams that were excluded will continue under their current arrangements for now. Further detail on take-up rates or any later forced cuts was not given in Monday’s announcement.
For Pakistani readers, the named countries matter: India is on the eligibility list, while Pakistan itself was not mentioned among the locations covered by this offer.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Microsoft ne lagbhag 60,000 logon ko khud job chorne ki offer di hai. Yeh uski total workforce ka qareeb aik chothai hissa hai. Offer America, Canada, India aur Britain ki kuch teams ke liye hai. Company kharch kam karna chahti hai aur AI par zyada paisa lagana chahti hai.
