Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to 60,000 staff, including in India

Microsoft has offered voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its workforce, according to an internal memo reported on Monday, October 26, 2026. The memo, sent by Chief People Officer Amy Coleman, covers staff at vice-president level and below in select teams in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. Eligible employees have until early December to decide, and those who accept will leave at the end of the year.

A buyout is different from a layoff. In a layoff, the company decides who leaves. In a voluntary buyout, the company offers a package and employees choose whether to take it. Companies use buyouts to shrink costs while giving staff some control and avoiding forced exits. But the scale here is unusual. Making a quarter of the workforce eligible signals that Microsoft wants a meaningful reduction in headcount, even though nobody yet knows how many will accept. The 60,000 figure is the number of people eligible, not the number expected to leave.

The inclusion of India is what makes this directly relevant for Indian readers. Microsoft has a significant workforce in India. The reports do not say how many of the eligible employees are in India, or which Indian teams are covered. Employees in those teams will have to weigh a severance-style package against staying in a company that is clearly trying to cut costs.

The move also reflects a wider shift in the technology industry. Big technology companies are spending very heavily on artificial intelligence, especially on data centres and chips, while trying to keep overall costs in check. It is notable that data-centre teams are excluded from this offer, while teams in established businesses such as Windows and Xbox may be affected. That pattern suggests money and people are being moved towards AI infrastructure and away from older product lines, although Microsoft has not described its reasons in those words in the reports available.

For the job market, a large buyout at one of the world's largest technology companies adds to pressure on technology hiring. When experienced engineers and managers leave a big firm at the same time, they compete with each other and with fresh graduates for openings elsewhere. At the same time, some may start companies or move to start-ups, which can bring experienced talent into the wider ecosystem.

Short-term: Eligible employees in the four countries, including India, now have about six weeks to decide. Teams may face uncertainty about who stays until the numbers are known in December.

Long-term: Depending on how many accept, Microsoft could emerge noticeably smaller in some product areas while continuing to invest in AI infrastructure. Other technology companies may follow with similar cost measures.

Who is affected: Microsoft employees in the eligible teams in the US, Canada, India and the UK; job seekers and recruiters in the technology sector; and start-ups that may gain experienced hires.

Questions and Answers