Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees amid AI push

Microsoft has offered voluntary buyouts to approximately 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its global workforce, as the company restructures to prioritize artificial intelligence investments. The offer, announced Monday by Chief People Officer Amy Coleman, targets employees at level 70 and below in the US, Canada, India, and the UK, excluding workers in data centers, sales, and marketing Source: ABC; La Vanguardia.

The buyout details

Eligible employees will receive benefits similar to a standard severance package, including financial support and career planning resources Source: El Confidencial. The program is voluntary and time-limited, with Microsoft expecting significantly fewer acceptances than its April 2026 early retirement plan, where about 30% of 8,750 eligible employees took the offer Source: Gizmodo; El Mundo. The company has not specified a target number for this round.

Context and cost-cutting

This move follows a series of workforce reductions: over 15,000 layoffs in 2025, 4,800 job cuts in July 2026, and the earlier voluntary retirement program Source: ABC; El Español. Microsoft's headcount has remained roughly flat since 2022, even as it has poured billions into AI infrastructure—$41 billion in capital expenditures in the April–June quarter alone, with plans to exceed $50 billion in the July–September period Source: ABC; El Mundo. The company argues the buyouts provide "another way to adapt its workforce to changing needs" Source: ABC.

The AI investment gamble

Microsoft is racing to monetize its massive AI investments, including its Copilot assistant and cloud services for AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic Source: El País. While Wall Street has rewarded the cost-cutting—Microsoft shares rose about 1% on the news—some analysts question whether the promised productivity gains from AI have materialized Source: Gizmodo; Diario Libre. The company will report quarterly earnings on Wednesday, offering investors a key test of its strategy Source: ABC.