60,000 employees eligible for Microsoft voluntary exit offer, or 27% of its workforce

Key Facts

On October 26, 2026, Microsoft announced a time-limited voluntary exit offer for eligible employees in participating organizations. The Associated Press estimated that about 60,000 employees were offered the program, or nearly 27% of the global workforce. The figures refer to the number eligible, not the number who will leave the company, as Microsoft has not disclosed how many employees it expects to accept. The company said the program allows eligible employees to leave with financial support and career-planning resources. It linked differences in participation to each business’s priorities, customer commitments and workforce needs. It added that eligible employees would receive offer details by email within hours of the announcement.

Microsoft did not present the program as a uniform offer to all employees; participation, the company said, varies across its organizations. That means the actual number of participants will depend on employees’ decisions and the needs of participating businesses. The announcement did not specify the amount of financial support or the application deadline. It also gave no estimate of how many employees would choose to leave. Chief People Officer Amy Coleman said the program "builds on what we learned earlier this year through the voluntary retirement program," referring to a previous company initiative.

The initiative follows the voluntary retirement program, in which Microsoft said more than 30% of eligible employees chose to participate. In July, the company announced the elimination of about 4,800 jobs, equivalent to about 2.1% of its global workforce, saying the changes were concentrated largely in its commercial business and Xbox unit. The company said that month that it had rehired more than 4,000 employees into new roles over the previous year, including 500 in July. The chief people officer at the time clarified that the eliminated jobs were not being replaced by artificial intelligence, while saying the technology "is changing how work gets done." The current offer differs from the job cuts announced in July because it provides for voluntary departures and does not specify how many employees will leave.

Microsoft had about 223,000 full-time employees as of June 30, 2026, including 121,000 in the United States and 102,000 internationally, according to its annual report. In May, the company planned to offer exit packages to about 8,750 employees, or 7% of its U.S. workforce, according to two people familiar with the matter cited by the Associated Press. The agency attributed the plan to those sources; the figure was not an official Microsoft announcement. These earlier moves provide context for the October offer but do not determine its eventual effect on workforce size. The announcement did not say how participation opportunities would be distributed across organizations or how many applications were expected.

The offer comes as the company’s revenue and cloud services are growing. Revenue was $90 billion in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, up 18% year over year, while revenue from Azure and other cloud services rose 43%. Growth in that revenue was 40% in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 before reaching 43% in the fourth quarter, according to investor relations figures. Microsoft shares closed at $532.6 on October 26, rising about 1% during the session, according to the Associated Press. The company’s announcement does not link the exit offer to funding investments or reducing costs. Actual employee participation and its effect on the workforce have not been disclosed.

Microsoft will report results for the first quarter of its 2027 fiscal year after the market closes on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, according to the company’s announcement. The results call is scheduled to be webcast at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time. The date comes two days after the voluntary exit offer was announced, as investors await the company’s quarterly results. Details of the offer and the level of participation could come up in a discussion of workforce needs, but the company has not said what it will disclose on the call. It has also not said how employees’ decisions will affect staffing levels or future financial results.