Microsoft has offered buyouts to about 60,000 employees.^[1] That is about 27% of its workforce.^[2] The company employed about 223,000 people at the end of June 2026.^[3] Its headcount was 228,000 at the end of 2025.^[4] The terms Employees up to vice president level are eligible.^[5] The offer applies in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States.^[6] It excludes staff in marketing, data centres, engineering and sales.^[7] US recipients get at least eight weeks of pay plus benefits.^[8] The Week reported severance of one month of base salary per year of service.^[9] The program includes financial support and career planning.^[10] Employees must accept by the first week of December.^[11] The Week gave the deadline as 1 December.^[12] Those who accept will leave on 31 December.^[13] Amy Coleman, Microsoft's chief people officer, announced the offer in an internal blog post.^[14] The record of cuts This is Microsoft's second voluntary buyout offer in 2026.^[15] The company cut about 6,000 employees in May 2025.^[16] It cut more than 300 in early June 2025.^[17] It cut about 9,000 positions in July 2026.^[18] The gaming division took the most of those cuts.^[19] The spending The exit program aims to cut labour costs and fund AI infrastructure.^[20] Capital spending rose 70% to $41.0 billion in the quarter ended June 2026.^[21] About two thirds of it went to short-lived assets.^[22] The Week reported plans to spend $175 billion on AI infrastructure.^[23] The stock Microsoft shares rose about 25% in the six months before 26 October.^[24] Set side by side, the numbers run in opposite directions. Headcount fell from 228,000 to 223,000, and the buyout offer reaches 60,000 more.^[4][1] Quarterly capital spending rose 70% to $41.0 billion.^[21]