Microsoft Offers Voluntary Buyouts to 60,000 Employees to Offset AI Infrastructure Spending

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is offering voluntary buyouts to roughly 60,000 employees, about 27% of its 223,000-person workforce, as it seeks to balance heavy artificial intelligence infrastructure spending with financial efficiency. The offer is available to certain employees in the U.S., Canada, India and the United Kingdom at experience level 70 or below. Microsoft has not set a target for departures. Eligible workers have until early December to decide, with participating employees expected to leave on Dec. 31. The move follows a voluntary retirement program earlier this year and a July announcement that the company would cut 4,800 jobs. Microsoft has been investing heavily in data centers to meet AI computing demand from customers including Anthropic and OpenAI. The company is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Wednesday.