Microsoft will offer voluntary retirement buyouts to about 7% of its US workforce, or roughly 8,750 employees, in the first such program in the company’s 51-year history, as the technology industry restructures under the cost pressure of AI investment.
The program, available to US-based employees at the senior director level and below, comes as large technology companies, including Microsoft, increase capital spending on AI infrastructure such as data centers and compute capacity while reviewing workforce structures to align with those investments. The initiative marks the first time Microsoft has implemented a voluntary exit scheme of this kind, CNBC reported, citing an internal memo.
Microsoft employed 228,000 people worldwide as of June 30, 2025, including 125,000 in the US, according to its latest annual filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, putting the eligible pool at about 8,750 people.
