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Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees as AI costs rise

Microsoft is offering a time-limited voluntary exit program to eligible employees in participating teams across four countries. The offer is not a 60,000-person layoff; Reuters said about 60,000 employees are eligible.

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Oct 27, 2026 - 05:06

Oct 27, 2026 - 05:46

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Inside Microsoft’s Redmond campus offices (file photo).

Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees as AI costs rise

Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees, or more than a quarter of its global workforce, as it seeks to contain costs while funding large investments in AI infrastructure, Reuters reported on October 26.

Offer is voluntary, not a confirmed layoff

The program is a time-limited Voluntary Exit Offer. Microsoft said eligible employees can choose to leave with financial support and career-planning resources. The company has not said that 60,000 jobs will be eliminated, so the eligibility figure should not be described as a layoff total.

Microsoft's official announcement said the offer is available to eligible employees in participating teams in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States at level 70 and below. Participation varies by organization, business priorities, customer commitments and workforce needs. Eligible employees were to receive their individual offer details by email.

Teams and workforce scope

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that employees in AI experiences, Copilot, finance, human resources, Xbox and Windows + Devices were among those eligible. Marketing, the commercial business and security were excluded, the source said. Reuters reported that Microsoft had 223,000 full-time employees worldwide as of June 30, 2026.

Chief People Officer Amy Coleman said in the staff communication that the offer gives employees considering a future outside Microsoft another choice and gives participating organizations another way to adapt their workforce to changing needs. Microsoft's official post said the program builds on lessons from an earlier Voluntary Retirement Program.

AI spending backdrop

Reuters reported that Microsoft has forecast $175 billion in capital expenditures for calendar 2026. The company is due to report its first-quarter results after markets close on Wednesday, according to Reuters; those results are not included in this report.

Microsoft also offered voluntary buyouts to about 7% of its U.S. workforce earlier this year, Reuters reported. In July, it announced 4,800 job cuts while restructuring its Xbox gaming business. Those earlier actions are separate from the new voluntary offer.