Microsoft Offers 60,000 Workers a Voluntary Exit Package

Roughly 60,000 Microsoft employees can now choose to leave with company support, but the offer does not mean 60,000 jobs will go. It covers workers in selected teams across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and India, and reaches about a quarter of Microsoft’s 223,000 employees. The company says the program is voluntary and time-limited. It has not said how many people will take it. ^1,2

Chief people officer Amy Coleman says eligible employees at level 70 and below in those four countries can receive an offer. There is no age or years-of-service requirement, and performance does not determine eligibility. The package follows Microsoft’s standard severance terms, including pay based on level and time at the company, continued stock vesting, healthcare for a set period and career support. Employees have until the first week of December to decide. Each participating team will set its own staffing needs. ^2,3

Those staffing needs help explain why the offer is not company-wide. Copilot, Xbox, Windows and Devices, finance and human resources are among the areas included, while sales, marketing and security are excluded, according to reports. The offer also comes after Microsoft cut 4,800 jobs in July and hundreds more at Xbox in September. The company says voluntary departures will not rule out future layoffs if business conditions call for them. ^1,2

Those possible layoffs make the size of the response important, but Microsoft expects fewer employees to accept this offer than joined its spring retirement program. About 30% of roughly 8,750 eligible employees took that earlier offer, which was limited to a smaller group of long-serving US staff. Microsoft’s next quarterly earnings report is due Wednesday. Employees facing this offer, meanwhile, must decide by early December. ^2,12