# Microsoft offers buyouts to about 60,000 eligible employees amid AI spending

> Original title: Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees as AI leads to efficiency push

- Source: CNBC · Technology
- Published: 2026-10-26T16:30:43.000Z
- Bad Influence: https://badinfluence.news/items/kmswxbs3uov4ly8twv3bgbogj
- Original: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/26/microsoft-msft-voluntary-buyouts.html

## Summary

Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to employees in the U.S., Canada, India and the United Kingdom at experience level 70 or below, with about 60,000 people eligible, according to a person familiar with the matter. The offer affects about 27% of Microsoft's 223,000 workers, and employees must decide in December before leaving on Dec. 31. Microsoft is balancing costly AI data center spending with capital efficiency, reporting $19.64 billion in second-quarter free cash flow, down 23% year over year.