Microsoft has offered voluntary buyouts to around 60,000 employees, or about 27% of its global workforce, as the software giant ramps up spending on artificial intelligence.
The voluntary exit offer is available to eligible employees in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States, the company's Chief People Officer Amy Coleman said in a blog post on Monday.
“The Voluntary Exit Offer is new for us,” Coleman wrote. “We'll learn from it. 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.”
Microsoft had approximately 223,000 full-time employees at the end of June. The company is scheduled to release its quarterly financial results on Wednesday.
Shares of Microsoft Corp., headquartered in Redmond, Washington, reached an all-time high this month and rose about 1% on Monday.
In May, Microsoft planned to offer buyouts to around 8,750 employees, or 7% of its US workforce, according to two people familiar with the plan who were not authorised to speak publicly about it.
In July, the company announced 4,800 job cuts, representing about 2.1% of its global workforce, including a significant number of employees at its Xbox video game business.
The growing investment in data centres to support artificial intelligence, expected to exceed $700 billion this year, has driven up the costs of memory chips, computer processors, other equipment and electricity.
Economists expect the spending boom to continue putting upward pressure on inflation at least through the end of this year.
Microsoft has been expanding its AI capabilities for several years. In 2024, the company unveiled a new category of AI-powered personal computers designed to integrate its Copilot AI assistant into the Windows operating system, which is used by millions of consumers.
In October 2025, Microsoft introduced Mico, a new AI character represented by a floating cartoon face resembling a blob or flame, designed to embody the company's Copilot virtual assistant.