Microsoft Offers Voluntary Retirement To 8,750 Employees In US

About 7% of the US workforce will be eligible for the buyouts, according to a person familiar with the planning. Microsoft has never previously done buyouts of this scale, said the person, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal matter.

23 Apr 2026, 18:23 · NDTV

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Microsoft offers voluntary retirement to about 7 per cent of its US workforce, around 8,750 employees
The move aims to reduce headcount amid heavy AI infrastructure investments and ongoing layoffs
Microsoft announced an $18 billion AI cloud investment in Australia, its largest ever in the country

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Microsoft Corp. is offering voluntary retirement to thousands of its employees in the US.

About 7% of the US workforce will be eligible for the buyouts, according to a person familiar with the planning. Microsoft has never previously done buyouts of this scale, said the person, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal matter.

The company had 125,000 employees in the US as of June 2025. That would make about 8,750 workers eligible for the program.

The offer was announced to employees Thursday, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg. Eligible workers include personnel whose years of service plus their age totals 70 or more, excluding some senior roles or those on sales incentive plans, according to the memo from Chief People Officer Amy Coleman.

"Our hope is that this program gives those eligible the choice to take that next step on their own terms, with generous company support," Coleman wrote in the memo.

Big tech companies have been looking for ways to trim their expenses as they pour billions into building the necessary infrastructure for their artificial intelligence services. Microsoft is racing to construct data centers around the world.

Reducing headcount has been a common approach to save cash. Microsoft has instituted massive layoffs that have hit in recurring rounds since early 2023. Other top AI spenders like Oracle Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc. have done similarly sweeping cuts over the last year.

For more: Microsoft CFO's AI Spending Runs Up Against Tech Bubble Fears

Earlier Thursday Microsoft announced it would spend $18 billion on AI cloud and infrastructure in Australia, its biggest-ever investment there, after previously committing $10 billion over four years for AI in Japan.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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