60,000 Microsoft staff eligible for new exit deal

Microsoft is currently funding a massive expansion of its artificial intelligence infrastructure, a move that is straining its balance sheet.

The company announced on Monday that it is offering voluntary exit packages to approximately 60,000 employees. The offer applies to staff in the United States, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom who hold an experience level of 70 or below. This group represents roughly 27% of Microsoft’s total workforce, which stands at 223,000 people.

Microsoft has increased spending to build data centers capable of handling high computing demands for clients like Anthropic and OpenAI. Capital expenditures for the September quarter are expected to exceed $50 billion, a sharp rise from the $34.9 billion spent in the same period a year ago. To manage these costs, the company launched a voluntary retirement program in April, making about 7% of U.S. employees eligible. In July, Microsoft followed up by announcing layoffs for 4,800 staff members.

Amy Coleman, the company’s executive vice president and chief people officer, wrote in a memo that the new offer aims to provide employees with more flexibility. She noted that the initiative builds on lessons learned from the earlier retirement program. Microsoft is also shifting its business model to charge clients based on actual AI usage. The company has deployed AI tools across programming, sales, and supply chain teams and reports observable efficiency gains.

Some teams in marketing, sales, and engineering have opted out of the new buyout, according to a person familiar with the matter. Employees must make their decision by early December. Those who accept the offer will depart on December 31. The previous retirement program was limited to staff at the senior director level and below, while this new offer extends eligibility to the vice president level. Microsoft has not set a specific target for how many employees will accept the deal. More than 30% of eligible staff accepted the earlier retirement offer.

Microsoft reported positive free cash flow of $19.64 billion in the second quarter, down 23% from the same period last year. Cloud competitors Alphabet and Amazon both reported negative free cash flow during that timeframe. The company is scheduled to release its third-quarter financial results on Wednesday.