Microsoft offers "voluntary buyouts" to 60,000 employees, including those in Xbox division

Microsoft announced the launch of the Voluntary Exit Offer (VEO) on October 26. As explained by the corporation’s Chief Human Resources Officer Amy Coleman, the initiative is designed for employees considering leaving the company. It will allow them to exit with financial support and assistance in finding new employment.

The program is available to certain categories of employees in the US, Canada, the UK, and India. According to Reuters, in addition to Xbox, it will affect the Windows, Copilot teams, and some divisions responsible for AI, finance, and personnel management. However, part of the marketing, corporate sales, and security staff will not be eligible to participate.

The offer is extended to employees up to and including the vice president level. Interested employees must make their decision by early December. The last working day for program participants is set for December 31, 2026.

Microsoft did not specify how many people it expects to remove from the workforce. Thus, 60,000 is the number of potential participants in the program, not planned layoffs.

The new initiative comes amid a major corporate restructuring. In April, Microsoft offered a voluntary retirement program to select employees in the US, and in July, announced around 4,800 job cuts. Some of the layoffs at that time impacted Xbox.

As noted by Reuters, Microsoft aims to curb expenses amid large-scale investments in AI infrastructure. However, the corporation itself does not directly link the new program to funding neural network technologies.