Microsoft [Getty Images]
Microsoft [Getty Images]

Microsoft is cutting up to 60,000 jobs through a voluntary exit program as it seeks to reduce costs and fund its growing AI investment.

The company employs roughly 223,000 full-time workers worldwide, meaning nearly one in four could face a departure. While severance is on offer, many of those affected will find themselves with little choice but to leave.

Amy Coleman, Microsoft's chief people officer, notified employees of the voluntary exit option in an internal memo, saying the program would give eligible staff "a new choice to transition with support" for those "considering a future outside the company," Business Insider reported Monday (local time), according to Yonhap.

The program targets employees at the vice president level and below working in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and India.

Up to about 60,000 employees are eligible — roughly 27 percent of the 223,000 full-time workers Microsoft disclosed as of June 30.

Divisions covered by the program include Windows, Copilot, Xbox and finance, while data center, marketing and cybersecurity teams are excluded, Bloomberg reported.

The severance terms mirror Microsoft's standard US exit package: a minimum of 60 days of base pay, a grace period during which employees retain their employment status, and additional base pay based on tenure and job level.

Employees must decide whether to participate by early December. Those whose applications are approved will be processed as departures starting at the end of this year.

Microsoft said it plans to persuade top performers who apply for the program to stay on.

The move is an attempt to reduce headcount and cut costs through voluntary departures rather than forced layoffs, even as the company continues to pour money into AI infrastructure.

"This program is an important part of how our approach to change is evolving," Coleman said. "It creates greater flexibility and provides more ways for employees to plan their next chapter."

Microsoft's earlier rounds of large-scale cuts

Microsoft [Getty Images]
Microsoft [Getty Images]

Microsoft had already signaled a major restructuring in July, announcing plans to cut more than 2 percent of its global workforce.

Coleman said at the time that approximately 4,800 employees — about 2.1 percent of the global headcount — would be let go, Yonhap reported.

Asha Sharma, head of the Xbox division, separately announced that 3,200 of those cuts would come from the gaming unit, with 1,600 employees notified of their termination immediately.

Xbox also said it would spin off or sell four of its game studios.

That restructuring was widely attributed to Microsoft's struggle to close the gap with Sony's PlayStation and Nintendo, despite having invested tens of billions of dollars in expanding its gaming business — including the acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023.

Earlier, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had signaled in November last year that he intended to grow the company's headcount even amid the AI-driven wave of industry layoffs. Microsoft nonetheless carried out another round of large-scale voluntary retirements in April this year, targeting veteran employees whose combined age and years of service exceeded 70.


yul@heraldcorp.com