Microsoft Offers Buyouts to 60000 Staff After Open Letter

Microsoft Offers Voluntary Exit Packages to 60,000 Staff Members

Microsoft has offered voluntary exit packages to approximately 60,000 employees, representing over a quarter of its global workforce, while an open letter circulating among current and former staff accuses the tech giant of prioritizing artificial intelligence investments over its workers, customers, and climate goals, The Times of India reported.

The Tech TL;DR:

• Microsoft opened a voluntary exit offer to eligible employees at level 70 and below across India, the US, the UK, and Canada, excluding sales and certain engineering teams.
• Staff opting into the buyout have until December 9, 2026, to make their decision, with departures scheduled for December 31.
• The workforce reduction coincides with a reporting period showing quarterly profits of $36.6 billion and capital spending driven largely by infrastructure buildouts.

An Open Letter Accuses Leadership of Demoralizing Work Culture

The voluntary exit offer, announced on October 26, 2026, follows a history of major workforce reductions at the company, including 10,000 layoffs in 2023, more than 15,000 cuts in 2025, and two prior reductions earlier in 2026. In April, the company offered early retirement to about 8,600 long-serving US employees, with roughly 30% accepting. In July, Microsoft cut approximately 4,800 jobs, including a fifth of its Xbox division.

Before the October buyout announcement, an open letter began circulating among colleagues. Signed by “Concerned Microsoft Workers,” the document describes the workplace as joyless and demoralizing, attributing the shift in culture to the rapid escalation of artificial intelligence investments. The signatories argue that mandatory AI tools are deployed across job functions with minimal training, leading to cycles of learning new systems, fixing faulty output, and rolling back weak features.

Global Scope of the Exit Offers and Financial Contrast

The voluntary exit program covers eligible staff in participating teams across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and India. Employees who accept the offer receive a minimum of eight weeks of base pay, scaled by level and tenure. Chief people officer Amy Coleman informed staff that the company expects fewer than 5% of eligible employees to accept the transition.

Two days after the buyout announcement, Microsoft reported a quarterly profit of $36.6 billion, marking a 32% increase on revenue of $92.3 billion. Capital expenditures rose 30% to $45.2 billion, primarily funding data center infrastructure. Annual capital spending is projected to reach approximately $170 billion.

Internal tension has accompanied these financial milestones. Merit raises this year fell below 1% for several workers. Gretchen Thomas, a 57-year-old design leader who left the company in September after five years, stated that her stock award was reduced for not consistently demonstrating speed and a willingness to experiment with AI tools.

Workers Urge Microsoft to Honor Climate Goals and Halt Secretive Projects

The open letter outlines demands spanning worker protections, community safety, and environmental stewardship. Signatories called on Microsoft to recommit to its sustainability goals of being carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste by 2030, while objecting to secretive data center projects and defense-related contracts.

Remaining employees face uncertainty regarding workloads. Several staff members expressed concern that departing colleagues will not be replaced, leaving remaining teams to absorb additional responsibilities as artificial intelligence deployment continues.