Microsoft is offering voluntary severance to about 60,000 employees, which is roughly a quarter of its total workforce. The program targets vice president-level employees and below in the U.S., Canada, India, and the UK. The company stated this is the second voluntary severance program it has offered in 2026.
Affected teams include Xbox, Windows, Copilot, and Finance, while data centers, sales, cybersecurity, and quantum computing teams are excluded from the program. Microsoft’s headcount remains flat at around 223,000 since 2022, and CFO Amy Hood plans to spend about $170 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026.
Chief People Officer Amy Coleman described the packages as a way to adapt to changing needs. This move signals a strategic shift as the company prioritizes heavy investment in AI infrastructure over broad workforce expansion.
