What happened
Microsoft confirmed that it is offering buyouts to roughly 60,000 employees under a program called the Voluntary Exit Offer. Chief people officer Amy Coleman told staff about it in a note that the company also published on its blog. Business Insider reported it first.
Who can take it
The offer is open to employees at vice president level and below on selected teams in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. According to Bloomberg, Xbox, Windows, Copilot and Finance are among the participating divisions. Some groups, including data center staff and part of sales and marketing, are left out. Terms are similar to Microsoft's standard severance, and eligible people were due to get an email with their details on Monday.
Why it matters
Microsoft calls the program new for the company and describes it as a way to let people who are thinking about leaving do so with support. It is used instead of mass layoffs. Earlier this year Microsoft offered buyouts to employees near retirement age, and more than 30% of the roughly 8,750 eligible people accepted. At the end of June the company had 223,000 employees, so the new offer reaches about a quarter of them. Microsoft says it will evaluate the results.