Microsoft has introduced a voluntary exit offer for its employees in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom.
According to CNBC, which cited a source familiar with the matter, the voluntary cut program could see about 60,000 workers, although the company has not confirmed the total yet.
“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,” chief people officer Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s executive vice president*, wrote in a statement in a memo to employees.
Adding, “This builds on what we learned earlier this year through the Voluntary Retirement Program.”
The layoff offer comes as the tech giant has been seeing a lot of pressure in its AI spending and cost control, as seen in its heavy race to invest in data centers to meet growing demand for artificial intelligence computing, including cloud services for Anthropic, OpenAI and other companies.
Microsoft reported property and equipment cash outlays of about $116 billion for fiscal 2026, with a large free cash flow of about $19.64 billion for the quarter ended June 30, down about 23 percent from a year earlier.
Earlier on July 6 this year, Microsoft eliminated about 4,800 roles, about 2.1 percent of its global workforce, and introduced a limited Voluntary Retirement Program in April for U.S. employees at level 67 and below who met age and service requirements. About 7 percent of U.S. employees were eligible and more than 30 percent of them participated.
With a deadline for workers interested up to the first week of December 2026, departures are expected by December 31, 2026. The number of potentially eligible employees would put the total at about 27 percent of the company’s 223,000-person workforce worldwide.
Initially, the offer is available to eligible employees in participating organizations at level 70 and below and is voluntary. Eligibility does not mean an employee will leave.
Coleman said the offer is intended to give employees considering a move outside Microsoft a way to do so with support while giving participating teams flexibility to adapt.
In 2024, Microsoft carried out involuntary layoffs, cutting about 1,900 jobs in its gaming division in January and roughly 1,000 positions across Azure, mixed reality and other units in June.
Microsoft has not published a participation target, and how many eligible employees will accept remains unknown.
