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