Business & Finance

Microsoft Offers Voluntary Buyouts to 60,000 Employees Amid AI Infrastructure Spending

By Jordan Novet

Microsoft announced on Monday that it is offering voluntary buyouts to employees in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom who have an experience level of 70 or below. About 60,000 workers, roughly 27% of the company’s 223,000‑person workforce, are eligible for the offer, according to a source who requested anonymity. The program is part of Microsoft’s effort to balance the high costs of building out artificial‑intelligence infrastructure with a focus on capital efficiency.

Microsoft has increased spending on data centers to meet the demand for AI computing, providing cloud services to companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI. The company said that capital expenditures for the September quarter should exceed $50 billion, compared with $34.9 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, putting pressure on its finances.

Earlier this year, Microsoft launched a voluntary retirement program that made about 7% of U.S. employees eligible, and in July it announced plans to lay off 4,800 employees. The new voluntary exit offer is described by Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s executive vice president and chief people officer, as a way to give employees more flexibility and to help shape their next chapter.

Microsoft is also shifting its business model to charge clients based on actual AI usage, and it has equipped programmers, salespeople and supply‑chain workers with AI tools. The company aims to maintain a strong financial profile while pursuing new growth opportunities.

In the second quarter, Microsoft reported $19.64 billion in positive free cash flow, down 23% year over year, while cloud rivals Alphabet and Amazon posted negative free cash flow. Some marketing, sales and engineering teams have chosen not to participate in the buyout.

Employees who accept the offer must decide by early December, with those who participate leaving on December 31. Microsoft’s voluntary retirement program, which was open to senior directors and below, saw more than 30% of eligible employees enroll. The new initiative extends eligibility up to the vice‑president level. Microsoft has not set a specific target for the number of participants.

The company is scheduled to report its third‑quarter results on Wednesday.