Microsoft Offers Voluntary Buyouts to 60,000 Employees Across India, US, UK and Canada

Microsoft has offered voluntary buyouts to approximately 60,000 employees across India, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada as part of efforts to realign its global workforce with changing business priorities.

In an internal memo issued on Monday, Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, announced the introduction of a Voluntary Exit Offer (VEO) for eligible employees in participating business units.

The programme is aimed at employees at level 70 and below who are considering career opportunities outside the company.

“Today, we’re introducing a new Voluntary Exit Offer (VEO) to eligible employees within participating organisations. This offer gives eligible employees who may be considering a future outside the company a new choice to make that transition now with support,” Coleman said.

“It also gives participating organisations another way to adapt their workforce to changing needs,” she added.

The initiative follows Microsoft’s earlier workforce restructuring measures, including a Voluntary Retirement Program introduced earlier this year.

According to Coleman, employees opting for the scheme will receive financial compensation and career planning support to assist their transition. However, the programme will not be available across all divisions, with participation determined by individual business requirements.

“Some organisations are providing the Voluntary Exit Offer, and some are not. Participation varies based on each business’s priorities, customer commitments and workforce needs,” Coleman said.

Eligible employees will receive emails outlining the terms and conditions of their respective offers.

Describing the initiative as a new approach to workforce management, Coleman said Microsoft would assess its effectiveness while continuing to support employee development and internal career opportunities.

“The Voluntary Exit Offer is new for us. We’ll learn from it,” she said.

“At the same time, we’ll keep helping people focus on the work that matters most, build new skills and, where it makes sense, find new opportunities across Microsoft. There is no one-size-fits-all approach for every team or every employee.”

Coleman also reiterated the company’s commitment to transparency throughout the process.

“My promise is to continue to provide clarity, listen and learn and keep improving. Thank you for everything you continue to do for our customers, Microsoft and for one another,” she said.

The latest move follows Microsoft’s announcement in July of approximately 4,800 job cuts, representing around 2.1 per cent of its global workforce, as part of an organisational restructuring aimed at directing investments towards priority business areas.

The reductions primarily affected Microsoft’s commercial operations and Xbox gaming division.

Within its commercial business, the company sought to bring engineering specialists closer to enterprise customers to accelerate technology deployment, while the Xbox division underwent restructuring aimed at improving its long-term operations.

Microsoft said it had redeployed more than 4,000 employees into new positions over the past year. It also transitioned four gaming studios to new operating structures to preserve intellectual property and ongoing projects.

More than 30 per cent of eligible employees participated in an earlier voluntary retirement programme, according to the company.

Microsoft has said employees affected by workforce reductions would receive financial assistance, career resources and transition support.

The workforce changes come amid increased scrutiny of US technology companies’ hiring practices and their reliance on skilled foreign workers.

US Vice President JD Vance recently announced restrictions affecting Microsoft and seven other companies seeking employment-based green cards for foreign workers amid an investigation into alleged visa fraud.

Microsoft defended its recruitment practices in an October 8 statement, saying the vast majority of its US workforce consisted of American employees.

The company said approximately 80 per cent of the 6,000 H-1B applications it submitted during the previous fiscal year were intended to extend or change the immigration status of existing employees.

The developments also coincided with US President Donald Trump’s presentation of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who previously held an H-1B visa.

Meanwhile, Microsoft President Brad Smith criticised the administration’s immigration restrictions while acknowledging its efforts to address artificial intelligence safety, including export controls affecting Anthropic’s AI models.