Workers at Microsoft's 52,000-person Redmond campus are among roughly 60,000 employees worldwide who can now take a buyout package and leave the company.
The Redmond-based tech giant announced the program, called a Voluntary Exit Offer, on Monday, Oct. 26. Eligible employees have until early December to decide, The Seattle Times first reported.
The 60,000 eligible workers represent roughly a quarter of Microsoft's 223,000-person global workforce.
Microsoft has not said how many Redmond-based employees qualify. The offer covers workers at level 70 and below on participating teams in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom.
Microsoft expects few takers. A spokesperson told The Seattle Times the company anticipates an acceptance rate as low as 3% to 5%, or fewer than 3,000 departures, based on comparable offers at other firms.
The company and the press framed the program differently. Microsoft called it a voluntary choice, offering "financial support and career planning resources" to employees considering a move, according to a company blog post by Amy Coleman, executive vice president and chief people officer.
The Seattle Times described the offers as buyouts aimed at controlling labor costs and avoiding layoffs. A Microsoft spokesperson told KIRO Newsradio the company is not positioning the program as a buyout.
Not every division is included. Gaming, Windows, Copilot, human resources and finance are fully participating, according to an internal memo viewed by The Seattle Times.
Microsoft's artificial intelligence, legal and cloud teams are partially participating. Marketing, commercial business and security are not.
"There is no one-size-fits-all approach for every team or every employee," Coleman wrote.
The program builds on Microsoft's Voluntary Retirement Program earlier in 2026, which was available to more than 8,700 U.S.-based employees.
About one-third accepted, The Seattle Times reported. The new offer's terms are not as generous as the retirement program's, the paper reported.
Microsoft cut about 15,000 jobs in 2025, including 3,200 in Washington. Smaller layoffs have continued in 2026, hitting the gaming division hardest.
Despite the cuts, Microsoft's Redmond headcount has held roughly steady. The company said earlier in 2026 it redeployed about 4,000 employees who received layoff notices in 2025, crediting reskilling efforts and new-team hiring.
Microsoft's stock rose about 1.5% on Oct. 26. The company reports first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings on Wednesday, Oct. 28, with analysts estimating nearly $91 billion in quarterly revenue, a 16.8% increase from a year earlier, according to The Seattle Times.
