Microsoft offers voluntary exit scheme to employees in India, US, UK, Canada
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Microsoft has introduced a voluntary employee exit scheme across India, the US, Canada and the UK, as the technology company seeks to manage workforce costs amid heavy investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The programme, announced on Monday by Chief People Officer Amy Coleman, will be available to eligible employees at level 70 and below in participating teams. The company has not disclosed how many workers qualify for the offer.
However, CNBC reported that approximately 60,000 employees, representing around 27 per cent of Microsoft's workforce of about 223,000, could be eligible. The offer is voluntary and includes financial assistance and career planning support for employees who choose to leave.
Participation will vary across business units depending on operational requirements and customer commitments. According to The Verge, teams involved include Copilot, CoreAI, Windows and Devices, Xbox, finance and human resources, while some other divisions are excluded.
CNBC reported that employees must make their decision in December, with those accepting the offer scheduled to leave on December 31.
The initiative follows Microsoft's earlier voluntary retirement scheme for a smaller group of long-serving US employees and comes months after reports of planned job cuts affecting around 4,800 workers.
The move comes as Microsoft increases spending on data centres and computing capacity to meet growing demand for AI services and cloud infrastructure, while seeking to contain operating costs.