Microsoft Offers Buyouts to About 60,000 Employees to Cut Costs Amid AI Spending

Microsoft is offering buyouts to roughly 60,000 employees — about a quarter of its global workforce of 223,000 — as the software maker seeks to trim costs while investing heavily in artificial intelligence, according to a memo made public Monday. Eligible employees on certain teams in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada and India can take the offer; workers in data centers, sales and marketing are excluded, Bloomberg reported. The memo did not specify the number eligible, but multiple outlets put it at around 60,000. Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment. The move follows a July round of 4,800 layoffs and the company's first voluntary retirement program. Microsoft, which owns LinkedIn, GitHub and studios including Xbox and Activision Blizzard, reported $90 billion in fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and $35.8 billion in net income, and is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on Wednesday. Rivals Meta, Amazon and Oracle have also cut staff while ramping up AI infrastructure spending.