Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts in four countries amid AI spending push

Microsoft is giving employees in four countries a new option to leave with financial support as it balances an expensive AI infrastructure buildout with spending discipline. The company introduced the voluntary exit offer on October 26, 2026. About 60,000 workers are eligible, according to CNBC’s reporting, but that figure is not a planned number of departures.

Eligibility depends on the team

The offer covers eligible employees at Microsoft’s internal level 70 and below in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States. In its official announcement, Microsoft said employees must also belong to a participating organization. A worker’s country and level alone do not establish eligibility: some organizations are offering the program, while others are not.

Microsoft says those decisions reflect each business’s priorities, customer commitments and workforce needs. CNBC’s Jordan Novet reported that some marketing, sales and engineering teams have opted out, citing a person familiar with the matter.

For participating employees, the package includes financial support and career-planning resources. Microsoft described it as a time-limited opportunity for people already considering a future outside the company. Eligible workers were to receive an email linking to their offer details within hours of the announcement.

Employees must decide in December, and those accepting will leave on December 31, according to CNBC’s source. That person also said Microsoft has no target number of exits.

About 60,000Employees eligible

CNBC’s source puts eligibility at about 27% of Microsoft’s total workforce of 223,000.

An exit offer beyond retirement

The new program follows Microsoft’s first voluntary retirement offer, introduced in April. That earlier initiative was available to around 7% of U.S. employees, CNBC reported. The two percentages describe different populations: April’s figure covered the U.S. workforce, while the new eligibility estimate is measured against Microsoft’s worldwide total.

The organizational reach also differs. The retirement program stopped at senior director, while the new offer reaches vice presidents, according to CNBC’s source. Microsoft said in July that more than 30% of eligible employees had accepted the retirement program.

Chief People Officer Amy Coleman said the exit offer builds on lessons from the retirement program. Microsoft has also used involuntary reductions: it announced plans in July to lay off 4,800 employees. The latest announcement instead gives eligible workers a choice about accepting a supported departure.

The AI infrastructure bill

Microsoft has increased data-center spending to serve AI computing demand, including cloud services for Anthropic and OpenAI. CNBC placed the buyout offer within the company’s effort to balance that buildout with capital efficiency.

Microsoft remained cash-generative in the second quarter, recording $19.64 billion in positive free cash flow, though that was down 23% from a year earlier.