Microsoft offers voluntary exit deals to about 60,000 employees
Microsoft’s new voluntary exit offer reaches about 27% of its workforce, but it is not a plan to cut 60,000 jobs.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
2 min read
Microsoft is extending voluntary exit deals to about 60,000 employees in selected teams, roughly 27% of its workforce. The Microsoft voluntary buyouts 60000 employees figure describes workers eligible to consider the offer, not 60,000 planned job cuts.
Chief People Officer Amy Coleman announced the Voluntary Exit Offer on Oct. 26. Microsoft said it gives eligible staff who are considering leaving the company an option to do so with support, while allowing participating business groups to adjust to their workforce needs.
Is Microsoft laying off 60,000 employees?
No. Microsoft has offered a time-limited, voluntary program and has not said that 60,000 positions will be eliminated. The company told GeekWire that it did not forecast how many people would accept; it expects a substantially lower share than the acceptance rate for its earlier retirement offer.
Microsoft also said the program does not rule out future layoffs, which may remain part of its approach depending on business conditions. The company cut 4,800 jobs in July, according to GeekWire.
Who can take Microsoft’s voluntary exit offer?
The offer covers eligible employees in participating teams in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and India, at Microsoft internal level 70 and below. The company said eligibility does not depend on age, tenure or performance.
Not every business group is participating. Sales, some engineering teams and some corporate functions are excluded, according to GeekWire. Coleman said participation differs according to each business’s priorities, customer commitments and workforce needs.
What does the offer include?
Microsoft said the offer provides financial support and career-planning resources, with individual details sent by email. The company told GeekWire that the package matches its standard severance arrangements: pay based on level and tenure, continued stock vesting, healthcare coverage for a fixed period and career-transition services.
Eligible employees have until the first week of December to decide, GeekWire reported. Business Insider reported that workers who accept would leave at the end of the year.
How does this differ from Microsoft’s earlier retirement offer?
The new offer is broader than Microsoft’s voluntary retirement program earlier this year. That earlier program was limited to qualifying U.S. employees who met an age-and-service threshold, while the new offer has no stated age or tenure condition.
About 8,750 employees were eligible for the previous retirement program, and roughly 30% accepted it, according to reporting cited by Ars Technica. Microsoft had 223,000 full-time employees as of June 30, down from 228,000 a year earlier; that total was reported before the July layoffs.
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.