The key facts

  • The voluntary departure program covers about 60,000 people — nearly a quarter of the 223,000 employees (as of June 2026)
  • It applies in the US, Canada, the UK and India; engineers and senior management are excluded
  • A decision to leave must be made by early December

Who was offered to leave and on what terms

Microsoft has offered some of its employees to voluntarily leave the company in exchange for severance payments. According to Business Insider, the program covers employees in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and India, while engineers and senior executives are excluded from it. Employees covered by the offer must decide whether to leave by early December.

Scale and context

As of June 2026, Microsoft employs 223,000 people, so the offer affects almost a quarter of the workforce. Business Insider links the initiative to the search for ways to cut costs amid large investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The report does not say how many employees will ultimately accept the offer or whether forced layoffs will follow.