# Microsoft Opens a Voluntary Exit Offer to Employees at Level 70 and Below in Four Countries; CNBC Cites a Source Putting Eligibility at About 60,000

Times of AI Desk · 2026-10-27 · Work

[https://timesof.ai/2026/10/microsoft-voluntary-exit-offer-60000-eligible](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/microsoft-voluntary-exit-offer-60000-eligible)

> Microsoft announced a Voluntary Exit Offer on October 26 for eligible employees in participating teams in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States at level 70 and below. Microsoft's memo does not mention AI; CNBC links the program to the cost of Microsoft's AI infrastructure build-out and, citing an unnamed person, says about 60,000 people, roughly 27% of the workforce, are eligible. Microsoft has not published an eligibility figure in the sources we read.

Microsoft's own memo presents the Voluntary Exit Offer as a staffing choice and says nothing about AI; the link to AI spending comes from CNBC's reporting, not from the company's text.

## What Microsoft says

Chief People Officer Amy Coleman announced the offer on **October 26** in a memo to employees that Microsoft later published on its official blog. It is open to eligible employees in participating teams in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States at level 70 and below, and Microsoft calls it a time-limited, voluntary program offering financial support and career planning resources. Microsoft says some organizations are offering it and some are not, depending on each business's priorities, customer commitments and workforce needs. The memo says the offer builds on the company's earlier Voluntary Retirement Program and calls the new offer "new for us."

## What CNBC reports

CNBC, citing a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named, says about 60,000 employees are eligible, about 27% of Microsoft's workforce of 223,000. The same person told CNBC that employees must decide in early December and that those who accept will leave on December 31. The person also said some marketing, sales and engineering teams decided not to participate, that the offer reaches up to vice-president level, and that Microsoft has no target for how many people will accept.

CNBC places the offer in the context of Microsoft's AI spending. It says Microsoft said in July that capital expenditures for the September quarter should exceed $50 billion, compared with $34.9 billion in capital spending and finance leases a year earlier. It also notes an April voluntary retirement program for which about 7% of U.S. employees were eligible and July plans to lay off 4,800 employees. CNBC says Microsoft reported in July that more than 30% of those eligible for the retirement program took it, and that program was open to employees at the senior director level of 67 and below. CNBC says Microsoft is scheduled to report quarterly results on Wednesday.

## How this differs from AI-framed layoffs

Earlier this year, [Block, Morgan Stanley and Atlassian announced cuts framed around AI productivity](https://timesof.ai/2026/03/ai-workforce-layoffs-and-adoption), as we reported in March. Microsoft's offer differs in form, because it is voluntary, and in framing, because the company's memo does not cite AI.

## Limits

- The 60,000 figure, the early-December decision date, the December 31 departure date, the vice-president reach and the absence of a target all come from one unnamed person quoted by CNBC; Microsoft's memo does not give them, and CNBC states the 27% share against a workforce of 223,000.
- We found no figure from Microsoft for how many employees are eligible or how many will accept.
- The connection to AI infrastructure spending is CNBC's framing; Microsoft's memo does not make it.
- The offer is voluntary, so the number of departures is not known.

## Sources

- [Official Microsoft Blog: Introducing a Voluntary Exit Offer (October 26, 2026)](https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/10/26/introducing-a-voluntary-exit-offer/)
- [CNBC: Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees as AI leads to efficiency push (October 26, 2026)](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/26/microsoft-msft-voluntary-buyouts.html)
- [Times of AI: March Layoff Wave: Block, Morgan Stanley, Atlassian Cite AI (March 8, 2026)](https://timesof.ai/2026/03/ai-workforce-layoffs-and-adoption)