EXPLORINEER
en

VN — VnExpress

Programming Careers Upended in the AI Era

AI1 min read

Microsoft has offered 60,000 employees the chance to leave voluntarily. The story shows how software programmers are being forced to change their skills, or even leave the job, as companies use more AI.

What happened

Microsoft proposed a voluntary exit program for 60,000 staff. That is more than a quarter of its workforce worldwide. HR chief Amy Coleman announced the plan on October 26. The company says it wants to cut costs and spend more money on big AI investments. The plan also lets departments change their staff to fit the changing needs of the market.

Key numbers

  • 60,000 employees offered a voluntary exit
  • More than 1/4 of Microsoft's global workforce
  • Announced on October 26
  • Ian Yong Hoe Tan left Microsoft 11 years ago and has been out of tech for almost 4 years

Why programmers are changing

AI tools can now write and check code. So the job of a programmer is changing. In the past, the value of a programmer was in knowing languages like Python or JavaScript and writing code by hand. Today, many experts say the key skills are judging good ideas, designing software, and checking what AI produces.

Why it matters

This story shows that even big tech companies are cutting jobs while they invest in AI. Workers who do not keep up with AI may find it harder to keep their jobs. But some people are adapting. One engineer now checks AI-written code, and another found a new AI-related job after nearly two years of searching.

What to watch

  • Whether other tech companies make similar job cuts
  • Whether other industries follow Microsoft's lead
  • How many employees accept the voluntary exit offer
  • How programmers' skills and job titles change as AI improves

Glossary

Microsoft
A large American technology company that makes software such as Windows and Office.
AI
Artificial intelligence, computer systems that can do tasks that usually need human thinking, such as writing text or code.
Python
A popular programming language that is easy to read and write.

Same story, different eyes

Ad

Add 150 words. Learn 10 a day.

Dicter word books send only the words you learn to your review notes.

More in this topic

AITechCrunch

Google’s Genie 4 world model adds audio, more realistic worlds, and real-time steering

Google DeepMind released Genie 4 as a research preview, a world model that generates more photorealistic, interactive worlds, real-time audio such as music, ambient noise, and dialogue, and lets users change scenes mid-simulation with text prompts. It can keep a consistent scene for up to two minutes, double the limit of its predecessor, Genie 3. The model is available now to trusted testers and will roll out to Google AI Ultra subscribers in Project Genie and to early access partners of the Gemini API and Google AI Studio in the coming weeks.

AIThe Verge

VisionQuest is what happens when AI really goes rogue

Marvel's VisionQuest follows the synthezoid Vision as he explores what it means to be a person, living alongside AI beings created by Tony Stark. The series engages with real-world debates about whether thinking machines should be seen as people and whether AI poses an existential danger. It also points to how aggressively Silicon Valley has used science fiction imagery to market its AI products.

AI전자신문

Adobe Expands AI Partnership with London Heathrow to Deliver Personalized Passenger Services

Adobe is expanding its partnership with Heathrow Airport to use AI-driven personalization and digital customer experience tools for more than 84.5 million annual passengers. Heathrow will adopt Adobe CX Enterprise on its official website, which receives over 50 million visits a year, and the two companies will work to make Heathrow's official content easier to find on major AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Perplexity. The companies also plan to track how Heathrow content is cited and surfaced in AI search and improve areas with poor information accessibility.