Microsoft offers buyouts to 60,000 employees, about a quarter of its staff

What happened

Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s chief people officer, announced the Voluntary Exit Offer in a memo to employees on Monday. October 26, 2026 - 4:34 pm Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s chief people officer, announced the Voluntary Exit Offer in a memo to employees on Monday. Microsoft is a software and software development company based in Redmond.

Microsoft confirmed the figure to Todd Bishop of GeekWire . It is open to eligible staff in participating teams in Canada, India, the UK and the US, at level 70 and below on Microsoft’s internal scale.

Microsoft Microsoft offers buyouts to 60,000 employees, about a quarter of its staff The Microsoft buyouts reach some vice presidents and pay standard severance. The company expects fewer takers than the 30% who took its retirement deal this spring.

The offer is voluntary and time-limited, and comes with financial support and career planning resources, she wrote. About 60,000 employees are eligible for the Microsoft buyouts, Bloomberg first reported.

That is about a quarter of its workforce, which stood at 223,000 at the end of June. “This offer gives eligible employees who may be considering a future outside the company a new choice to make that transition now with support,” Coleman wrote.

What the offer pays The package matches Microsoft’s standard severance, the company told GeekWire. It contains base pay based on tenure and level, continued stock vesting, healthcare for a fixed period and career transition services.