Microsoft offers voluntary retirement to 60,000 staff
Eligible employees in the US, UK, Canada and India must decide by December and would leave on December 31, the company said.
Microsoft is offering a voluntary retirement program to about 60,000 employees in the US, UK, Canada and India, Chief People Officer Amy Coleman said in a message to employees. The company confirmed the program to CNBC.
Coleman said the offer is part of changing how the company approaches change. The program runs for a limited period and provides financial and career-transition support to eligible employees.
Eligible employees will receive an email link with detailed terms within a few hours, according to Coleman. They must decide by December whether to accept, and those who participate will leave on December 31. Microsoft has not set a target number for the program, CNBC reported.
Microsoft will report third-quarter results on the 29th.
Earlier cost measures
In April, Microsoft announced a voluntary retirement program offered to about 8,600 employees, more than 30% of whom accepted, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the new program. As of the end of June, Microsoft had 223,000 employees. Earlier this year, the company announced 3,200 layoffs in its Xbox games division.
Microsoft is also expanding data center investment to provide cloud services to companies including Anthropic and OpenAI.
Quick answers
How many Microsoft employees are eligible for the voluntary retirement program?
About 60,000 employees in the US, UK, Canada and India.
When do participating employees leave Microsoft?
Those who accept by the December deadline leave on December 31.
Does Microsoft have a target number for the program?
No. According to CNBC, the company has not set a target number.