Microsoft offers severance packages to 60,000 employees

Volunteers Wanted Microsoft is Offering Severance Packages to Tens of Thousands of Employees

2026-10-29 Source: dpa | Translated by AI 1 min Reading Time

The software giant Microsoft has reportedly offered around 60,000 employees the option of leaving the company voluntarily with a severance package ...

Microsoft is also currently trying to keep its costs under control. That is why the software giant is now offering a severance package to a large part of its workforce so that the group can streamline its operations...(Image: AI-generated) — Microsoft is also currently trying to keep its costs under control. That is why the software giant is now offering a severance package to a large part of its workforce so that the group can streamline its operations...
(Image: AI-generated)

Microsoft’s severance offer is therefore aimed at employees in certain divisions in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States. At least, that information came from Microsoft itself. At the end of the past fiscal year (end of June), the software company employed around 223,000 people. This means the offer would, at least theoretically, be directed at more than a quarter of Microsoft’s workforce. The US corporation itself, however, assumes that the acceptance rate will be far lower than the 30 percent seen at the time of a previous early-retirement offer. The company known for the Windows operating system had, as is well known, cut around 4,800 jobs just a few months ago. Microsoft is currently ramping up spending on AI infrastructure, just like Google and Facebook parent company Meta. Google and Meta have therefore already tried to slim down their workforces as well.

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