Microsoft is offering a time-limited voluntary buyout programme that could affect around 60,000 employees, including eligible staff in India, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, according to a Business Insider report cited by Reuters and a company blog post.
The offer covers employees in participating teams at level 70 and below, Microsoft said. The company described the programme as voluntary and said it was developed using insights from an earlier voluntary retirement programme.
The reported figure of around 60,000 employees comes from Business Insider, which cited a company memo and a Microsoft spokesperson. Microsoft did not immediately comment on the number of employees affected when contacted by Reuters.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the voluntary exit offer will cover several key divisions, including AI experiences, Copilot, finance, human resources, Xbox, and Windows + Devices. The source said the programme would exclude marketing, commercial business and security units.
Microsoft’s decision places India among the countries where eligible employees can participate. The company blog post did not specify how many Indian employees may be covered by the offer, nor did the material supplied identify the number of participating teams in the country.
The programme comes as Microsoft continues to organise its workforce around businesses including artificial intelligence and Copilot, its suite of AI-powered products and services. The divisions named in the report span product development, consumer technology and corporate functions, although the supplied information does not establish whether participation will lead to permanent reductions in specific teams.
Because the offer is voluntary, the final number of employees leaving the company may differ from the reported potential reach. The company has also not publicly confirmed the approximately 60,000 figure in the supplied material.
For India’s technology workforce, the inclusion of the country makes the announcement relevant beyond Microsoft’s internal staffing structure. However, the available information does not specify the locations, roles, compensation terms or deadline applicable to eligible employees in India. Microsoft said the programme is time-limited, but did not provide a closing date in the cited statement.
The next step will be for eligible employees in participating teams and countries to assess the offer under the terms set by Microsoft. Further details on participation, the number of accepted buyouts and the programme’s effect on individual divisions were not provided in the material cited by Reuters.
