Microsoft's moolah mountain is more massive than ever. It just doesn't want the people who built it

What happened

Microsoft is celebrating record money results. At the same time, it is offering voluntary redundancy (paid leave for staff who choose to go) to about 60,000 employees. The writer, Rupert Goodwins, calls this odd, since the company has plenty of cash.

Key numbers

• Azure cloud business is up over 40 percent.
• Microsoft has 30 million paid seats on Copilot, its AI assistant.
• Microsoft returned $10.2 billion to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks.
• CEO Satya Nadella's pay package was cut by 6 percent, but he owns about 0.01 percent of the company.
• Microsoft added 88 data centers in its most recent full financial year.

Why the company needs money

Building AI needs huge amounts of computer buildings called data centers. Analysts noticed Microsoft spent less on this than they expected, because some orders were out of stock. The company is now signing new contracts to catch up. It may also borrow money in 2028, when it could spend more cash than it brings in.

Why it matters

Borrowing costs more when a company does not make much profit. Cutting staff saves money over time, but the job cuts cost money up front. The writer says the bet is risky, because the job market is uncertain and AI's value for businesses is still hard to prove.

What to watch

• Whether Microsoft borrows money in 2028 and moves into negative free cash flow (spending more cash than it earns).
• How many employees accept the voluntary redundancy offer.
• Whether new data centers are finished on time.
• Whether rival AI models and price competition hurt Microsoft's growth.