Microsoft is offering voluntary severance packages to about 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its workforce. The offer covers staff at vice president level or below in the U.S., Canada, India, and the UK.
Chief People Officer Amy Coleman described the packages in a memo as "another way to adapt their workforce to changing needs." A Microsoft spokesperson said the company wants employees committed to tackling its toughest problems.
Xbox, Windows, Copilot, and Finance are fully included in the program. Data centers, sales, cybersecurity, and quantum computing are excluded. Those excluded areas are mostly important to Microsoft's AI strategy.
Microsoft offered buyouts earlier in 2026
This is Microsoft's second voluntary severance program in 2026. It offered buyouts to 8,750 U.S. employees in May. The company then cut 4,800 jobs in July.
Microsoft's workforce remains at about 223,000, roughly the same level as in 2022, despite strong revenue growth. The new offer comes as headcount has stayed flat.
Microsoft plans to spend $170 billion on AI
CFO Amy Hood says Microsoft plans to spend about $170 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026. That is down slightly from the company's original $175 billion plan.
