Microsoft offers voluntary exit packages to up to 60,000 employees

Microsoft has offered voluntary severance packages to about 60,000 employees. The figure covers the workers who receive the offer, not those who actually leave the company. Accepting is voluntary.

The offer applies to employees at the vice president level and below on select teams in the US, Canada, India and the UK. Some groups are excluded, including data center employees and those in sales and marketing.

A new choice, says the HR chief

Microsoft's chief people officer, Amy Coleman, says the offer gives employees who are considering a future outside the company a new choice: to leave now with support.

Billions for AI

The offer comes as Microsoft invests heavily in artificial intelligence. According to CFO Amy Hood, the company expects to spend $175 billion on AI infrastructure, including data centers, in 2026 alone.

The offer is justified by costs and AI investments. There is no indication that AI has replaced the employees, so the 60,000 should not be understood as jobs cut because of AI.

Not the first this year

This is the second voluntary offer in 2026. In April, about 7 percent of US employees were offered early retirement, and about 30 percent of those eligible accepted. The sources do not fully agree on the spring offer, however: One source instead mentions an offer in May to 8,750 employees.

In July 2026, Microsoft also laid off about 4,800 employees, roughly 2 percent of its workforce. The Xbox division was hit especially hard.

For rank-and-file employees, the case shows that big tech companies are sending enormous sums to AI while offering people the chance to leave. How many of the 60,000 will say yes is not stated in the sources.