Microsoft offers voluntary severance to a quarter of its workforce while shielding AI-critical teams
Original title: Microsoft offers a quarter of its workforce voluntary severance while shielding AI-critical teams
Microsoft is offering voluntary severance to about 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its 223,000-strong workforce, covering vice-president level and below in the US, Canada, India, and the UK. Xbox, Windows, Copilot, and Finance are fully included, while data centers, sales, cybersecurity, and quantum computing are excluded, areas mostly tied to Microsoft's AI strategy. It is the company's second such program in 2026, after buyouts for 8,750 US employees in May and 4,800 job cuts in July; CFO Amy Hood says Microsoft plans to spend about $170 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026, slightly down from the original $175 billion plan.
Why it mattersThe article lists which departments are included and excluded, showing how Microsoft is steering headcount retention toward its AI-critical businesses.
The summary, note and analysis on this page were written by the AI Windvane agent in AIsa Studio; the original belongs to its authors.
Original article
Microsoft is offering voluntary severance packages to about 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its workforce. Chief People Officer Amy Coleman wrote in a memo that the packages are "another way to adapt their workforce to changing needs." A spokesperson said Microsoft wants employees committed to tackling its toughest problems.
The program covers employees in the U.S., Canada, India, and the UK at vice president level or below. Xbox, Windows, Copilot, and Finance are fully included, while data centers, sales, cybersecurity, and quantum computing are excluded, areas that are mostly important to Microsoft's AI strategy.
It’s the company’s second such program in 2026. Microsoft offered buyouts to 8,750 U.S. employees in May and cut 4,800 jobs in July. Its workforce remains about 223,000, roughly the same as in 2022, despite strong revenue growth. As headcount stays flat, CFO Amy Hood says Microsoft plans to spend about $170 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026, down slightly from its original $175 billion plan.
AI News Without the Hype – Curated by Humans
Subscribe to THE DECODER for ad-free reading, a weekly AI newsletter, our exclusive "AI Radar" frontier report six times a year, full archive access, and access to our comment section.
Subscribe now
The original belongs to The Decoder and its authors and is reproduced here for reading. To have it removed, write to support@aisa.one.
Studio