Microsoft offers buyouts to nearly 30% of its workforce for AI shift
Microsoft is offering buyouts to roughly 60,000 workers.
The short version
- That is about 27% of its total workforce.
- The software giant is spending heavily on artificial intelligence.
- Eligible U.S. staff get eight weeks of pay.
- They must accept by the first week of December.
Why it matters to you. For your business, it is another sign that the biggest players in tech are shifting every possible dollar toward automated systems, leaving traditional roles behind.
Microsoft, the giant software maker, is offering voluntary buyouts to roughly 60,000 employees, or about 27% of its total workforce, as the company pours billions into artificial intelligence. In a note to employees on Monday, chief people officer Amy Coleman introduced the new program for eligible workers up to the vice president level.
“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 wrote in a memo published on the company blog, according to Fortune. The cuts follow a string of executive departures under chief executive Satya Nadella, including LinkedIn head Ryan Roslansky and longtime gaming chief Phil Spencer.
Microsoft employed about 223,000 people at the end of June. Employees who accept the buyout will receive severance based on tenure. In the U.S., that means a minimum of eight weeks of pay, along with continued stock vesting, health care, and career services.
Workers in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and India have until the first week of December to accept, with departures set for December 31. Other tech giants have also trimmed their headcounts as expenses climb. Google offered buyouts in June, and Amazon has cut thousands of jobs across multiple divisions.
Microsoft reported $41 billion in capital expenditures in its latest quarter as it races to build out data centers for artificial intelligence.
Photo: Jelson25, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
