Microsoft Just Offered Buyouts to About 60,000 People

Microsoft Just Offered Buyouts to About 60,000 People — 27% of Its Entire Workforce

Microsoft opened a voluntary exit offer on Monday, October 26, 2026, to about 60,000 employees — roughly 27% of its global workforce of about 223,000 — in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, as the company spends heavily on artificial intelligence infrastructure. The stock rose about 1% on the day, and the announcement lands just two days before Microsoft reports quarterly earnings on Wednesday.

This is not a layoff round with a target attached. Microsoft says eligible employees can choose to leave with financial support and career-planning resources — and the company has set no public target for how many people it expects to accept.

What Happened

Chief People Officer Amy Coleman announced the Voluntary Exit Offer in a memo that Microsoft also published on its official blog. "The Voluntary Exit Offer reflects an important part of how we're evolving our approach to change: creating greater flexibility and, where possible, more ways for employees to shape their next chapter," Coleman wrote, saying the program builds on what the company learned from its Voluntary Retirement Program earlier this year.

The offer is open to eligible employees on participating teams at level 70 and below — a reach that reports say extends up to vice-president level. Not every part of the company is included: the sales organization is not participating, according to GeekWire reporting, and data-center staff are excluded, according to reports from Bloomberg and Business Insider. Eligible workers were told to expect an email with their individual terms, because the public memo does not detail the package.

One important detail: Microsoft's own memo does not give a headcount. The roughly 60,000 figure comes from news reports and a company spokesperson cited by Bloomberg and Business Insider, and it equals about 27% of the roughly 223,000 full-time employees Microsoft reported at the end of June.

Why It's Blowing Up

Scale is the story. Voluntary buyouts are usually aimed at a division or a country unit. Opening an exit offer to more than a quarter of the workforce of one of the world's largest companies — in a single announcement — is the kind of move that instantly becomes the day's defining tech headline.

The timing fuels the reaction. Microsoft reports its fiscal first-quarter results on Wednesday, October 28, the same day the Federal Reserve decides on interest rates. Investors are already focused on how fast AI spending is growing against the revenue it produces, and a workforce program of this size, announced 48 hours before those numbers, reads as part of that same cost-versus-AI equation. Reporting on Monday linked the offer directly to mounting AI costs, including data-center construction and the expensive computing equipment needed to train and run AI systems.

It is also not Microsoft's first workforce move of 2026. Reports describe a May plan to offer buyouts to about 8,750 people, roughly 7% of its U.S. workforce, and in July the company said it was cutting about 4,800 jobs, including many at Xbox. Monday's offer is far larger in reach than either.

Key Facts

Who is eligible: About 60,000 employees — roughly 27% of a ~223,000-person workforce — on participating teams in the U.S., Canada, India and the U.K., at level 70 and below.
The decision window: Employees must decide in December — the first week of December, per GeekWire reporting via CNBC's source — and those who accept will leave on December 31, 2026.
No target: Microsoft has no target number for acceptances this time, according to CNBC's source, and the company has said it does not expect a high volume of employees to participate.
What's offered: Financial support and career-planning resources; individual package terms are being sent to eligible employees directly and were not detailed in the public memo.
Market reaction: Microsoft shares rose about 1% on Monday (Barron's put the gain at about 1.5% intraday in its market wrap), with the stock having hit an all-time high earlier this month.
What's next on the calendar: Microsoft earnings on Wednesday, October 28, when investors will also get the latest update on AI capital spending.

What's Next

The first real test is Wednesday's earnings report. Analysts will be listening for any executive comment on the exit offer, on expected acceptance levels, and on the charge the program could create — alongside the AI spending figures that dominate every Microsoft results day now. A smaller workforce can lower recurring costs over time, but a voluntary program also carries an upfront cost and the risk of losing experienced staff in areas the company still needs.

The second test comes in December, when the decision window closes. Until then, the honest summary is this: 60,000 is the number of people who received a choice, not the number leaving. How many accept will decide whether this is remembered as a historic restructuring or a very large offer few people took.

Sources

FAQ

How many Microsoft employees were offered buyouts?

About 60,000 employees, according to news reports and a company spokesperson cited by Bloomberg and Business Insider. That is roughly 27% of Microsoft's approximately 223,000 full-time employees — but it is the number eligible, not the number leaving.

Who is eligible for Microsoft's Voluntary Exit Offer?

Eligible employees on participating teams at level 70 and below in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. Some groups are excluded, including the sales organization and, per reports, data-center staff.

When do employees have to decide?

Reports say the decision window closes in December — the first week of December per GeekWire reporting — and employees who accept will leave on December 31, 2026.

Why is Microsoft doing this now?

Microsoft frames the offer as flexibility for employees during a period of change, and reports link it to cost control as AI infrastructure spending soars. The announcement came two days before Microsoft's October 28 earnings report, when AI spending is the central investor question.