Microsoft offers 60,000 workers voluntary redundancy buyout option AI revolution could mean a quarter of its workforce can now leave

Date:
Tue, 27 Oct 2026 11:30:00 +0000

Description:
Having spent billions on AI infrastructure, Microsoft now wants to trim its headcount.

FULL STORY
Microsoft is looking to slim down its workforce and is hoping
that a voluntary redundancy buyout will convince some workers to leave of their own accord.

The redundancy buyout has been offered to 60,000 Microsoft employees across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and India and represents about a quarter of the companys global headcount. While no official reason has been given for the cutting down on headcount, the company was expected to funnel around $50 billion into spending between July and September - with AI infrastructure such as data centers and computing taking up a significant

Those offered the voluntary redundancy package are all considered
to have an experience score of 70 or less according to Microsofts scale. The terms offered to employees are more generous than standard redundancy packages, with some employees with a score between 65 to 67 receiving two weeks of pay for every six months at the company.

Those below 65 on the experience scale will receive just one week for every six months spent working for Microsoft. Extra support has also been offered
to workers who accept voluntary redundancy including continued healthcare coverage, outplacement support, and extended stock vesting.

Employees considering the voluntary redundancy package have until December to make a decision. Some sectors of the business, such as marketing, sales, and engineering teams have reportedly decided to refuse to participate.

"The Voluntary Exit Offer is new for us. Well learn from it, Microsoft Chief People Officer Amy Coleman wrote in a memo to employees . At the same time, well keep helping people focus on the work that matters most, build new
skills and, where it makes sense, find new opportunities across Microsoft."

Microsoft bets big on AI -- The company has reported
strong growth this year with revenue increasing 18% year-over-year
to just over $90 billion.

Microsoft, alongside other top AI firms, have spent hundreds of billions on
AI data centers, new computing chips, and the associated infrastructure in
the expectation that AI will deliver the productivity and efficiency
increases promised by developers.

The tech giant has opened 31 new data centers in the last quarter, and cut
the ribbon on its $7.3 billion Fairwater 1 facility in April 2026 - much to the annoyance of local residents .

Microsoft has also taken steps to reduce the hardware costs of its data centers. The companys most powerful chip yet - Maia 300 - was unveiled in October, with the company already using the chip for inference with Copilot. The design delivers 1.7 times more tokens per watt than leading GPU infrastructure, Microsoft said.

Microsoft said the chip will become the companys main inference capability thanks to the reduced token costs and increased efficiency.

Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/microsoft-offers-60-000-workers-voluntary-redund ancy-buyout-option-ai-revolution-could-mean-a-quarter-of-its-workforce-can-now -leave

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