# Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to around 60,000 employees

_Published Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 12:32 PM EDT · Products, AI · Latest · Tier 1 — Major_

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Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to around 60,000 employees in the US, UK, Canada and India, The Verge reported. The offer expands substantially on a retirement programme limited to around 9,000 employees earlier this year, as Microsoft seeks to lower operating costs and headcount while maintaining investment in AI infrastructure.

Eligible employees have until December to decide. Sources familiar with the terms said the package is practically the same as regular severance: cash based on tenure, accelerated stock vesting, additional subsidized health coverage and several months of career services. Eligibility does not establish how many employees will leave.

## Sources

- [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1022023/microsoft-exit-offer-layoffs-notepad)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/QbSa5Mp47jPuaRgwc2pSrq
Published: 2026-10-29T16:32:31.766Z
Story chronology: 2026-10-29T16:00:00.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-10-29T18:47:18.875Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)