Microsoft offers voluntary departures to approximately 60,000 employees to reorganize around AI

Xbox, Windows, Copilot and finance are concerned in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom; data centers, sales and marketing are spared.

Microsoft sent emails on October 26 proposing a voluntary departure plan to some 60,000 employees, more than a quarter of its workforce (223,000 in June 2026). The offer targets employees up to the rank of Vice President in certain teams, including Xbox, Windows, Copilot and Finance, in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. Data centers, sales and marketing are excluded, and the financial conditions are based on the group's usual severance benefits.

The operation is part of a cost reduction effort to prepare the company for the development of AI. Earlier this year, Microsoft had already offered departures to employees close to retirement: out of about 8,750 eligible people, more than 30% had accepted. Its Director of Human Resources, Amy Coleman, presents the device as a way to give employees more flexibility to choose the next step in their career, while meeting the needs of the company.