Microsoft offers voluntary exit packages to 60,000 staff, with some Indian teams eligible

Newswire reports that Microsoft announced a new voluntary exit offer for certain employees in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, limited to workers at level 70 or below. Newswire attributes the estimate of about 60,000 eligible employees to a person familiar with the matter, and says that would represent roughly 27% of the company’s 223,000-person workforce.

Newswire reports that Microsoft is expanding data-centre capacity to meet demand for AI computing and provides cloud services to Anthropic, OpenAI and other companies. The outlet says Microsoft forecast capital expenditures above $50 billion for the September quarter; capital spending and finance leases totalled $34.9 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.

Newswire reports that Microsoft described the offer as part of efforts to give workers more flexibility and build on lessons from an earlier voluntary retirement program. The outlet says that program, announced in April, was open to about 7% of U.S. employees. Newswire also reports that Microsoft announced plans in July to cut 4,800 jobs.

Newswire reports that Microsoft is changing its business model to charge customers increasingly according to their AI usage, while giving AI tools to staff in programming, sales and supply-chain roles. The outlet says the company is also seeking to ensure it has the skills needed for emerging growth areas.