Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees, the company said on Monday, roughly a quarter of its workforce, as the tech giant seeks to cut costs while pouring money into artificial intelligence.
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giant → offer → intelligence
Staff on select teams in the United States, Canada, India and Britain at vice president level and below will be eligible, a Microsoft spokesperson said, while some groups of employees, including some working on data centres, sales and marketing, are excluded.
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groups → say → centres
“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,” Amy Coleman, an executive vice president and chief people officer, told employees in a memo.
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Coleman → reflect → memo
In April, the company reportedly offered around seven percent of its US workforce the option to retire early.
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company → offer → option
Around 30 percent of those eligible took the voluntary retirement plan, according to CNBC.
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percent → take → CNBC
Microsoft had 223,000 employees globally at the end of June, down from 228,000 at the end of 2025, according to regulatory filings.
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Microsoft → have → filings
The company is expected to report quarterly earnings later this week.
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company → expect → earnings
As major tech giants continue to spend heavily on AI-related investments, concerns persist about the impact of the technology on jobs.
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concerns → continue → jobs
Even industry insiders, such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, have warned of mass job losses.
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insiders → warn → losses
Netflix will reportedly cut around 6 percent of its workforce, or 1,000 jobs, US media reported last week.
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media → cut → workforce
Auction site eBay laid off 1,000 employees earlier this month, adding to a previous round earlier this year which impacted 800 jobs.
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which → lay → jobs
In May, Meta laid off around 10 percent of its global workforce, impacting around 8,000 employees.
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Meta → lay → employees
In April, Meta also said it would cancel plans to hire an additional 6,000 people and also shift 7,000 other employees into AI workflow-related roles.
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it → say → roles
Ride-hailing giant Uber said in September that it would lay off around 10 percent of its staff, impacting an estimated 3,000 or more employees.
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it → hail → employees
And e-commerce giant Amazon announced 16,000 global job cuts in January.
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Amazon → announce → January
Microsoft previously cut nearly 5,000 jobs in July that heavily targeted its Xbox gaming division.
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that → cut → division
Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta are collectively on track to pour roughly $700 billion into AI data centres, chips and computing infrastructure this year alone.
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Amazon → pour → centres
In July, Microsoft said it spent $41 billion overall between April and June and expected to increase its spending to $50 billion between July and September.
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it → say → July
However, the company also adjusted its forecast for total spending in the 2026 calendar year to $175 billion, down from $190 billion previously.
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company → adjust → billion
Around two-thirds of its spending goes towards “short-lived assets,” specifically chips, due to customer demand for “both AI and non-AI infrastructure,” CFO Amy Hood said during a call with analysts.
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Hood → go → analysts
The Aporia
