Microsoft Offers Buyouts to 60,000 Staff Despite $133.7 Billion Profit

Despite recording $133.7 billion in net income in fiscal 2026, Microsoft is offering to buy out eligible employees through what it calls a “Voluntary Exit Offer” (VEO), as the company tries to “meet different business needs.”  

According to CNBC, the offer could cover about 60,000 employees, representing roughly 27% of Microsoft's 223,000-strong workforce. 

Amy Coleman, Microsoft Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, said the offer would be available to eligible employees in participating teams in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States. The time-limited programme builds on Microsoft's Voluntary Retirement Program announced earlier this year, which could give employees another option to leave the company with financial support and career planning resources. 

“The Voluntary Exit Offer reflects an important part of how we’re evolving our approach to change: creating greater flexibility and, where possible, more ways for employees to shape their next chapter,” Coleman wrote on Microsoft's blog. 

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TechloyOluwaseun Bamisile

Who is eligible and who is not? 

Microsoft introduced a voluntary retirement programme in May for employees up to level 67. Its latest offer extends eligibility to level 70, bringing more senior employees within its potential reach. It isn’t a layoff: employees choose whether to take the offer.

Microsoft's job levels broadly cover the following roles: 

• Levels 59–62: Engineers, analysts, and other professional roles. 
• Levels 63–64: Senior engineers and managers. 
• Levels 65–67: Principal engineers and senior management. 
• Levels 68–70: Partner-level technical leaders, directors, and senior directors. 

This leaves out senior executive positions, such as Corporate Vice Presidents (CVPs) and Executive Vice Presidents (EVPs), among others above level 70. Eligible employees will receive an email with a link to their Voluntary Exit Offer details within the next few hours. 

Why Is Microsoft Offering Buyouts?

According to the Windows maker, the VEO will help participating teams adapt their workforces to changing business needs while giving employees who are already considering leaving the company support to make the transition. 

Meanwhile, the announcement comes as Microsoft increases its spending on artificial intelligence. According to CNBC, the company has been expanding its data centre capacity to meet demand for AI computing, including from cloud customers such as Anthropic and OpenAI. 

In July, Microsoft said capital expenditure for the September quarter would exceed $50 billion, compared with $34.9 billion in capital spending and finance leases during the same quarter a year earlier. 

Although the company has cited changing business needs as the reason for the offer, it has yet to say whether its AI investments have any connection to the VEO. 

What employees can expect 

While Microsoft is yet to reveal the full details of the Voluntary Exit Offer, its previous voluntary retirement package for US employees in May offers an indication of what eligible employees could expect. 

Under that offer, employees received a minimum of 60 days of base pay, during which they remained on the payroll, and, for most employees, up to 39 weeks of base pay, depending on their seniority and tenure.