Microsoft Offered 60,000 Staff a Buyout. Its Earlier Buyout Took 30 Percent
The voluntary exit offer covers about 27 percent of Microsoft's workforce. A spokesperson says AI is not driving it, and the memo as reported does not say how many exits the company wants.
At a glance
- •Microsoft opened a voluntary exit offer on October 26, 2026 to about 60,000 employees in the U.S., Canada, India and the U.K., about 27 percent of its 223,000 staff.
- •More than 30 percent of roughly 8,750 eligible workers took Microsoft's earlier 2026 retirement offer, per TechCrunch citing Bloomberg, so even a 10 percent take rate here means about 6,000 exits.
- •KUOW reports Microsoft says AI is not driving the buyouts, while NBC News describes the goal as controlling costs and helping fund AI spending.
- •Microsoft has forecast $175 billion in 2026 capital expenditures and reports quarterly earnings after the close on Wednesday.
Microsoft has offered voluntary exit packages to about 60,000 employees, roughly 27 percent of a 223,000-person workforce, while KUOW reports the company says artificial intelligence is not driving the program. The same company has forecast $175 billion in capital spending for calendar 2026, per NBC News. A reader can hold both facts. The memo, as reported, names neither as the reason.
The short answer
On October 26, 2026, Microsoft opened a voluntary exit offer to about 60,000 employees in the U.S., Canada, India and the U.K., at level 70 and below, on participating teams. A spokesperson says terms are comparable to standard severance. Microsoft has not said how many it expects to accept, and the reports reviewed here give no dollar figures.
60,000
employees offered a voluntary exit
About 27 percent of the 223,000 full-time staff Microsoft had on June 30 (percentage is this newsroom's arithmetic).
Who is in, who is out
Eligibility is set by the head of each Microsoft organization, according to KUOW, so this is 60,000 invitations drawn from a patchwork of teams, not a company-wide menu. A source cited by NBC News said participating groups include AI experiences, Copilot, finance, human resources, Xbox, and Windows + Devices. TechCrunch, citing Bloomberg, listed Xbox, Windows, Copilot and finance. Excluded groups vary by outlet: NBC News's source named marketing, the commercial business and security, while TechCrunch named data centers, sales and marketing, and KUOW named sales, some corporate services and some engineering teams.
Chief People Officer Amy Coleman sent the memo on Monday. TechCrunch reported that eligible staff were told to expect an email with a link to their individual offer. That email, not the memo, is where the money lives, and none of the outlets reviewed here had seen it.
The earlier-buyout arithmetic
Microsoft ran a smaller version of this earlier in 2026, a voluntary retirement offer. TechCrunch, citing Bloomberg, reported that more than 30 percent of the roughly 8,750 eligible workers accepted. That is at least 2,600 people, by simple multiplication.
Apply that rate to 60,000 and the answer is about 18,000 departures. Apply 20 percent and it is 12,000. Apply 10 percent and it is 6,000, which is still more than the 4,800 job cuts Microsoft announced in July, according to NBC News. These are scenarios, not forecasts. KUOW reported that Microsoft expects lower uptake this time, partly because the earlier terms were more generous. The company has not published a target.
Voluntary is carrying a lot of weight
Coleman's note, as TechCrunch quoted it, describes the offer as giving people who may be considering a future outside the company "a new choice to make that transition now with support." It also calls the program "new for us." TechCrunch noted that the note does not explicitly tie the buyouts to AI and mentions building new skills inside the company.
“a new choice to make that transition now with support”
Other framing is less modest. NBC News, relaying Reuters reporting, described the goal as controlling costs and helping fund Microsoft's AI spending. KUOW reports Microsoft saying AI is not driving the buyouts. Those descriptions are not necessarily contradictory, since cost control and capital spending can coexist with a company declining to call either the cause. But the memo, as reported, does not say which one it is.
What to check next
Microsoft reports first-quarter results after the market closes Wednesday. Shares were up about 1 percent on Monday and about 10 percent for the year, per NBC News. The earnings call will show what Microsoft is spending. How many people say yes will take longer to show up.
One caveat on the sourcing. Every account here traces to Microsoft's memo and a Microsoft spokesperson, and the memo itself was not independently reviewed for this piece. The reports reviewed also do not give the decision deadline or the last day of employment for people who accept.
Sources
- 01Microsoft offers buyouts to around 60,000 employees to contain costs, NBC Newsnbcnews.com
- 02Microsoft offers buyouts to around 60,000 employees, reports say, TechCrunchtechcrunch.com
- 03Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to a quarter of its workforce, KUOWkuow.org
Corrections
No corrections have been made to this article.
About the reporter
Technology Reporter, Trestlewire
My first published story, in the spring of 2004, was about a database company whose new release had been announced three separate times. I knew it had been announced three times because I had signed off on two of the announcements. I spent seven years as a product manager in enterprise software before I switched sides, and the habit that came with me is a single question: does this ship, or is it a demo.
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