Microsoft Offers Voluntary Buyouts to a Reported 60,000 Staff as AI Costs Climb

Microsoft has offered voluntary buyouts to a reported 60,000 employees across the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, in one of the largest workforce offers in the company's history. The programme, announced on Monday, 26 October 2026, is voluntary: eligible staff may choose to leave with financial support and career-planning help, but no one in the eligible pool is automatically losing their job. How many people accept will decide how large the eventual departure actually is.

The 60,000 figure comes from reporting of the offer, including Business Insider and Bloomberg, and Microsoft has not independently confirmed that number to Reuters, even though it has confirmed the programme itself. That distinction matters. What is confirmed is the shape of the offer: a time-limited Voluntary Exit Offer for staff at internal level 70 and below — vice-president level and below — in participating teams, with eligibility decided by each organisation on business priorities and workforce needs.

Which teams are in, and which are out

According to sources cited by Reuters, teams in AI experiences, Copilot, finance, human resources, Xbox and Windows and Devices are among those included, while marketing, commercial business and security are excluded. Other reporting adds data-centre groups to the exclusions. The pattern points to a reshaping rather than a simple cut: the company is protecting the infrastructure and security work behind its artificial-intelligence push, while offering exits in product and corporate teams.

Chief People Officer Amy Coleman, in a staff memo, said: "This offer gives eligible employees who may be considering a future outside the company a new choice to make that transition now with support." The memo does not publish payment figures, and reported severance terms vary by level, location and length of service. Eligible staff were told to expect individual details by email.

Why now: AI spending on one side, cost pressure on the other

The offer lands as Microsoft spends heavily on artificial intelligence. The company has forecast 175 billion dollars in capital expenditure for calendar 2026, much of it for data centres and chips, and investors have been questioning whether the returns will justify that spending. Microsoft employed about 223,000 full-time staff globally as of 30 June 2026, so a reported eligible pool of 60,000 would be more than a quarter of the workforce — but again, eligibility is not departure, and the eventual number of exits is unknown.

This is not Microsoft's first such move this year. It earlier offered voluntary buyouts to about 9,000 United States employees, with about 30 per cent reported to have accepted, and it cut 4,800 jobs in July 2026. The new offer is far wider in both geography and scale, and it arrives days before Microsoft reports quarterly results after markets close on Wednesday, 28 October.

What happens next

Eligible employees face a decision over the coming weeks, with exits reported to be planned for the end of the year. The key numbers to watch are not the 60,000 eligible, but how many accept, which teams lose the most people, and what Microsoft says about workforce costs when it reports results. For staff in India, one of the four countries covered, the offer is a choice with support attached — not a layoff notice — and that distinction should be kept clear in any discussion of the programme. Information only, not financial or investment advice. Figures as reported on 26 and 27 October 2026.