Big change at Microsoft! Offer of separation to 60,000 employees

U.S.-based technology company Microsoft is accelerating its investments in artificial intelligence while continuing steps to restructure its workforce. In a statement on Monday, the company announced that it is offering voluntary exit options to about 60,000 employees in certain positions, with financial support.

According to the company's spokesperson, the program covers employees in vice‑presidential and lower positions in certain teams in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. However, some staff working in data‑center, sales and marketing units were excluded from the program.

27% of Microsoft Employees Covered

Vice President of Human Resources Amy Coleman said in a memo to employees that the voluntary exit program is part of the company's transformation in its approach to change.

Coleman said the program aims to give employees greater flexibility and to offer different options for shaping the next stages of their careers.

The company's global headcount was reported as 223,000 at the end of June. That figure had risen to 228,000 by the end of 2025. About 60,000 employees eligible for the voluntary exit program represent roughly 27% of the company's total workforce.

This year, the second voluntary separation program was offered.

Microsoft offered its employees a voluntary separation option for the second time in 2026.

The company had offered early retirement to about 7% of its U.S. employees in April. According to CNBC, roughly 30% of employees eligible for the earlier program accepted the offer.

Microsoft also carried out a layoff of about 5,000 employees in July, primarily affecting the Xbox gaming division.

The company is also expected to announce its latest quarterly financial results this week.

Tech giants are investing billions of dollars in artificial intelligence.

Microsoft's decision came at a time when major technology companies were increasing investments in artificial‑intelligence infrastructure and reshaping their employment policies.

While the effects of artificial intelligence on the workforce continue to be debated, Anthropic senior executive Dario Amodei warned that the technology could lead to widespread job losses.

Other technology firms are also taking steps to cut their workforce. Netflix reportedly plans to lay off a thousand employees, roughly six percent of its staff, while the online auction platform eBay this month severed ties with a thousand workers. The company had also laid off 800 employees earlier in the year.

Meta had announced in May that it would lay off 8,000 employees, about ten percent of its global workforce. The company also said it was canceling a hiring plan for six thousand people while shifting 7,000 employees to AI‑focused roles.

Uber announced in September a layoff plan that could affect around 3,000 employees, while Amazon had said in January it would lay off 16,000 workers worldwide.

A $700 Billion Expectation in Artificial‑Intelligence Investments

While technology companies take steps to cut employment, they are allocating large budgets for artificial‑intelligence data centers, chips, and computing infrastructure.

It is said that Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta are expected to invest a total of about $700 billion in these areas this year.

In a statement issued in July, Microsoft said it had spent $41 billion in the April‑June period and projected raising that figure to $50 billion for the July‑September period.

However, the company cut its total spending forecast for the 2026 calendar year from $190 billion to $175 billion.

Microsoft's Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said that roughly two‑thirds of the spending was earmarked for assets with relatively short useful lives, chiefly chips. Hood added that these investments stem from customer demand for both artificial intelligence and other computing infrastructure.

Microsoft's voluntary separation program stands out as a new example of the technology sector's transformation, where companies reassess workforce numbers and cost structures while expanding AI investments.