Microsoft buyouts open to about 60,000 staff before earnings

Key takeaways

• Microsoft opened a Voluntary Exit Offer on Monday, October 26, 2026, and about 60,000 employees are eligible, according to Bloomberg and Business Insider.
• Eligible staff are on participating teams in the US, Canada, India and the UK, at level 70 and below. Microsoft describes that as vice president level and below.
• Some groups are excluded, including parts of data centers, sales and marketing. A source told Reuters that commercial business and security are also left out.
• Microsoft has not said how many people it expects to accept. The offer comes two days before the company's quarterly earnings on October 28.

Microsoft buyouts: what happened

Microsoft buyouts are open to about 60,000 employees in four countries. The "Voluntary Exit Offer" covers staff at level 70 and below and gives benefits similar to standard severance, Bloomberg and Business Insider reported on Monday, October 26, citing the company.

Amy Coleman, Microsoft's executive vice president and chief people officer, announced the program in a memo to staff on Monday. Microsoft also published a blog post that day. TechCrunch reported the news at 15:58 UTC, citing Business Insider and Bloomberg. Reuters followed shortly after.

In the memo, Coleman wrote that the offer "reflects an important part of how we're evolving our approach to change," according to Yahoo Finance. TechCrunch quoted another line from the memo: the program gives eligible employees "a new choice to make that transition now with support."

Who is eligible for the Microsoft Voluntary Exit Offer

Microsoft's blog post says the offer is open to "eligible employees in participating teams in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States" at level 70 and below, Reuters reported. A Microsoft spokesperson told Business Insider that this means vice president level and below on select teams.

The offer does not cover the whole company. TechCrunch reported that some employee pools are excluded, including people working on data centers, sales and marketing. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that the offer covers these groups:

• AI experiences
• Copilot
• finance
• human resources
• Xbox
• Windows + Devices

The same source said marketing, commercial business and security are excluded. Microsoft has not published a full list of participating teams.

What we know and what we don't know yet

What is confirmed: the program is voluntary and time-limited. It is open in four countries to staff at level 70 and below. Microsoft says the design draws on lessons from its earlier voluntary retirement program. About 60,000 people are eligible, according to Bloomberg and Business Insider.

What has been reported but not confirmed: CNBC reported, citing a person familiar with the plan, that employees must decide in December and that people who accept will leave on December 31. Microsoft has not publicly confirmed these dates.

What we don't know yet: the exact pay formula, how many people Microsoft expects to accept, and whether layoffs will follow if too few accept. When Reuters asked how many employees would be affected, Microsoft did not immediately comment.

Background: Microsoft's workforce reshaping

This is a much larger offer than the one Microsoft made earlier this year. In the spring, the company announced its first voluntary retirement program, open to about 8,750 US employees. Packages ranged from 8 to 39 weeks of base pay. Microsoft said in July that more than 30% of eligible staff had accepted.

The new offer is part of a wider restructuring as Microsoft shifts toward AI and keeps spending heavily on AI infrastructure. Xbox, one of the teams reportedly included, has already gone through a reset this year. Its chief operating officer Helen Chiang left the role after about three months.

What it means

The buyouts shrink headcount through choice rather than forced layoffs, which may reduce the disruption of a sudden layoff round. The final cost savings will depend on how many people accept. If take-up matches the earlier program's 30%-plus rate, that would be roughly 18,000 people. That number is only an illustration; Microsoft has not given any forecast.

The timing matters for investors. Microsoft reports fiscal first-quarter 2027 results after the US market close on Wednesday, October 28 (see our Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon earnings dates tracker). Analysts are likely to ask how the buyouts affect operating costs and AI spending plans. Questions about whether AI spending is paying off in profit margins already hang over Big Tech. Follow further updates at Microsoft.