London, 27 October 2026 — EBM Newsdesk Analysis — By Katie Winearls
Microsoft has offered voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its global workforce. It is one of the largest workforce reductions ever attempted by a technology company, and it comes without a single forced layoff.
The offer covers staff at vice-president level and below on selected teams in the US, Canada, India and the UK, including Xbox, Windows, Copilot and finance, according to TechCrunch. Data centre staff and sales and marketing teams are excluded. The terms are similar to Microsoft’s standard severance. Employees have until early December to decide and will leave at the end of the year.
Chief people officer Amy Coleman described it as “a new choice” for staff to move on “now with support”, admitting the approach is “new for us”.
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Buyouts are a softer way to shrink. Microsoft has already cut deeply. It laid off about 15,000 people last year and another 4,800 in July, Axios reported. Earlier this year it offered early retirement to about 8,750 older employees, and more than 30% accepted.
Offering a voluntary exit avoids the reputational damage and legal risk of mass redundancies, particularly in the UK and India. But it carries a risk of its own: the best people, who can easily find other jobs, are often the first to take the money.
The AI Bill Comes Due
The real driver is artificial intelligence. Microsoft is spending staggering sums on data centres to compete in AI, alongside rivals such as Meta, which is committing up to $145bn this year. Something has to give, and that something is headcount.
AI is also changing the work itself. Tools that write code and automate routine tasks mean companies need fewer people for the same output, as vibe coding transforms software development. As EBM’s Weekend Read set out, the AI layoffs have arrived, from Barclays’ 5,000 job cuts to Big Tech itself.
Investors are watching closely. ECB economists have warned that the AI-fuelled stock boom is heading for a correction, and cutting staff costs is one way to reassure shareholders that the AI spending will eventually pay off.
Where I Land
This is a landmark moment. When the company most associated with the AI boom offers a quarter of its staff the chance to leave, it confirms that AI is now reshaping jobs, not just products. The voluntary approach is smart and humane, but its message is blunt: Microsoft believes it can do more with far fewer people. Expect other tech giants, and the banks, insurers and consultancies that rely on their tools, to follow. In the UK, where many of these roles are based, the effect will be felt first in well-paid white-collar jobs that once seemed safe.
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