Microsoft is offering staff in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States the chance to leave the company voluntarily, with financial support and career planning resources attached. Amy Coleman, executive vice president and chief people officer, set out the Voluntary Exit Offer to employees this week, describing it as a time-limited programme.

Reports suggest the buyout is open to around 60,000 people, close to a quarter of Microsoft's total headcount. Coleman was clear that it is not running everywhere. Whether a given team takes part depends on its priorities, its commitments to customers and how many staff it needs.

She framed the offer as part of a shift in how the company handles change, one meant to give employees "greater flexibility and, where possible, more ways for employees to shape their next chapter". The scheme is Microsoft's latest move to shrink its workforce without reaching for another round of compulsory cuts.

The pattern is not new this year. Microsoft put a voluntary retirement option to its US workforce earlier in 2026, and more than 30% of those eligible accepted. Then in July, Coleman said the company was cutting roughly 4,800 roles, about 2.1% of its global workforce, keeping its "people, investments, and energy on the priorities that keep Microsoft positioned to deliver for customers in a fast-changing industry".

Coleman told staff the company was in unfamiliar territory. "The Voluntary Exit Offer is new for us. We'll learn from it," she wrote, adding that there was no single formula that fitted every team or every person, and that the various measures were an attempt to balance differing business needs against giving employees room to grow.

"My promise is to continue to provide clarity, listen and learn and keep improving," Coleman concluded.