Microsoft offers to buy out a quarter of its workforce

What happened

On Monday, Microsoft said it will offer voluntary buyouts to eligible employees in some parts of the company. The company says this is a chance for people who were already thinking about moving to a new job outside Microsoft. Microsoft did not give a direct reason for the offer.

Key numbers and facts

• About 60,000 employees are offered the buyout, or about a quarter of the global workforce.
• The offer covers the United States, India, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
• Employees at level 70 or below can take part.
• In April, about 8,750 US employees were offered an earlier voluntary retirement package. About 30 percent accepted.
• In July, the Xbox division laid off 3,200 people, about 20 percent of its gaming division.

Why Microsoft is doing this

For several years, Microsoft has worked to control costs while it spends heavily on AI infrastructure and data centers. Data centers are large buildings full of computers that run online services. This is the second voluntary workforce reduction Microsoft has run in 2026.

Why it matters

This is a much larger offer than the April plan, which went mainly to long-serving employees near retirement. Because the offer reaches so many people, it could change how many people work at one of the biggest tech companies in the world. Microsoft also says the choice of groups was based on each business's priorities, customer promises, and workforce needs.

What to watch

• How many of the 60,000 eligible employees accept the buyout.
• Whether Microsoft plans layoffs if not enough people take the offer.
• Which teams are most affected by the changes.