Microsoft has announced voluntary buyout offers for approximately 60,000 employees, representing about 27% of its global workforce. The software giant is making these offers in an effort to reduce and contain costs to help fund its massive investments in artificial intelligence.
The offers will be available to employees on select teams across the United States, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. The buyouts apply to staff at level 70 and below, which may include some senior personnel. While roughly a quarter of the company's workforce is eligible, Microsoft cautioned that it does not expect many employees to sign on.
This move marks the latest in several workforce trimmings this year, following a voluntary retirement offer in April to about 7% of its U.S. workforce. The company has shed tens of thousands of workers in waves of layoffs in recent years as it seeks to balance a rapid infrastructure build-out with capital efficiency and rework its workforce for the AI era.