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Related tickers and likely impact
MSFT
▲ Likely positiveMicrosoft
Relevance: medium
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Systems Software |
| Market cap | $3.9T |
| Close on 10/26/2026 | 532.75 |
| Change that session | +1.57% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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Microsoft is offering buyouts to about 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its global workforce, as it looks to cut costs while investing heavily in artificial intelligence. It is the first time the company has introduced a voluntary retirement program, available to employees in certain teams in the U.S., U.K., Canada and India; the memo does not give the number eligible, but news outlets reported around 60,000 out of roughly 223,000 workers globally. In July, Microsoft laid off 4,800 employees, saying those roles were not being replaced by AI. Its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue reached $90 billion and net income was $35.8 billion, beating analyst expectations. Microsoft 365 Copilot has more than 30 million paid users, but adoption is much smaller than Google's Gemini or OpenAI's ChatGPT.
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Microsoft is offering buyouts to about 60,000 eligible employees in the U.S., Canada, India and the UK who have an experience level of 70 or below, with those who accept leaving at the end of the year. Chief people officer Amy Coleman said the program reflects how the company is evolving its approach to change by creating more flexibility for employees, building on its Voluntary Retirement Program earlier this year. The move follows American Express's plan to eliminate 5% of its global workforce and Barclays' plan to cut about 5,000 jobs, with AI cited as a main reason in both cases. Meanwhile, initial U.S. unemployment claims fell to 194,000 in the week ending Oct. 17, one of the lowest levels in more than five decades. However, about 1.94 million Americans had been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer in September, representing 27.1% of all unemployed workers.
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Microsoft has put up to 60,000 jobs at risk, including roles in the UK, as it seeks to cut costs and turns to AI to complete more tasks. The company is offering a time-limited voluntary “buyout” package to eligible staff in the US, Canada, India and the UK in finance, HR, AI, Microsoft Copilot and Xbox, but not to those in data centres, sales, marketing, cybersecurity or quantum computing. In a July buyout for retirement-age staff, more than 30% of 8,750 eligible workers accepted, and Microsoft expects a lower acceptance rate this round. The company has about 223,000 workers globally, including 6,000 in Britain, and is due to report results on Wednesday.
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Microsoft has offered about 60,000 employees, roughly 27% of its global workforce, voluntary buyouts as it spends heavily on artificial intelligence. The offer is available to eligible employees in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States, and Chief People Officer Amy Coleman said in a blog post that it is new for the company and that it will learn from it. Microsoft had about 223,000 full-time employees at the end of June, and its shares hit an all-time high this month before rising about 1% on Monday. Earlier, the company planned buyouts for about 8,750 people (7% of its U.S. workforce) in May and in July cut 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of its global workforce, including many at its Xbox business. Data-centre investment, likely topping $700 billion this year, has pushed up the prices of memory chips, processors and electricity, and economists expect it to keep lifting inflation at least through the end of this year.
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Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees, according to Bloomberg, to control operating costs and retool its workforce for AI. The offer applies to employees at vice president level and below in designated teams in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, while certain data center, sales and marketing groups are excluded. Participants will receive benefits mirroring standard severance terms. Company representatives expect far fewer employees to accept than the over 30% of 8,750 eligible workers who took the earlier retirement-focused buyout. Microsoft had roughly 223,000 employees at the end of June, and MSFT stock rose about 1% on Monday and is up about 9% year to date.
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