What happened
An explainer on Microsoft's October 26, 2026 Voluntary Exit Offer to about 60,000 employees, why eligibility is not a layoff tally, and what remains unknown about AI spending and uptake.
# Microsoft offers a quarter of its global workforce voluntary buyouts as AI spending accelerates
Microsoft has offered 60,000 employees, or about 27% of its global workforce, voluntary buyouts as the software giant spends heavily on artificial intelligence
By
MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer
October 26, 2026, 1:42 PM ET
• 2 min read
Microsoft has offered 60,000 employees, or about 27% of its global workforce, voluntary buyouts as the software giant [spends heavily](https://apnews.com/article/tech-stocks-ai-investments-8a0ff4c95d5cae6f65c6e2ba03047058) on artificial intelligence.
The company's voluntary exit offer was available to eligible employees in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States, the company's Chief People Officer Amy Coleman wrote in a blog post Monday.
“The Voluntary Exit Offer is new for us,” Coleman wrote. “We’ll learn from it. At the same time, we’ll keep helping people focus on the work that matters most, build new skills and, where it makes sense, find new opportunities across Microsoft.”
The company, which releases its quarterly financial results Wednesday, had approximately 223,000 full-time employees at the end of June.
Shares of Microsoft Corp., based in Redmond, Washington, hit an all-time high this month. The stock rose about 1% on Monday.
In May, Microsoft planned to offer buyouts to about 8,750 people, or 7% of its U.S. workforce, according to two people familiar with the plan who were not authorized to speak about it publicly. In July, the company said it was [cutting](https://apnews.com/article/xbox-layoffs-microsoft-sharma-5a8f712c531911089dee008b3bbb33c4) 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of its global workforce, including a large number of workers at its [Xbox video game](https://apnews.com/article/xbox-raises-prices-tariffs-microsoft-cd746a5aed59f3f5403ab262d6e149f0) business.
The gusher of investment in data centers — likely [topping $700 billion](https://apnews.com/article/tech-stocks-ai-investments-8a0ff4c95d5cae6f65c6e2ba03047058) this year — to power artificial intelligence has made memory chips, computer processors and other equipment, as well as electricity, more expensive. Economists expect it will continue to push up inflation at least through the end of this year.
Microsoft has been [ramping up](https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-ai-pcs-windows-recall-cc4c52316b035840f1590ef3a589cf0f) its AI capabilities for several years. In 2024 the company revealed a new class of AI-imbued personal computers that centered on fusing its AI assistant, called Copilot, into the Windows operating system for PCs, where Microsoft already has the eyes of millions of consumers.
And in October 2025 Microsoft introduced a new artificial intelligence character called [Mico](https://apnews.com/article/ai-character-mico-clippy-microsoft-a5937ca6778381907848e9a82d1131db), a floating cartoon face shaped like a blob or flame that embodies the software giant’s [Copilot virtual assistant](https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-50th-ai-ceo-mustafa-suleyman-copilot-e7d217f5d9ca9c40929570da2fff734a).
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Source coverage
Microsoft has offered 60,000 employees, or about 27% of its global workforce, voluntary buyouts as the software giant spends heavily on artificial intelligence
By
Full source content
# Microsoft offers a quarter of its global workforce voluntary buyouts as AI spending accelerates
Microsoft has offered 60,000 employees, or about 27% of its global workforce, voluntary buyouts as the software giant spends heavily on artificial intelligence
By
MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer
October 26, 2026, 1:42 PM ET
• 2 min read
Microsoft has offered 60,000 employees, or about 27% of its global workforce, voluntary buyouts as the software giant [spends heavily](https://apnews.com/article/tech-stocks-ai-investments-8a0ff4c95d5cae6f65c6e2ba03047058) on artificial intelligence.
The company's voluntary exit offer was available to eligible employees in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States, the company's Chief People Officer Amy Coleman wrote in a blog post Monday.
“The Voluntary Exit Offer is new for us,” Coleman wrote. “We’ll learn from it. At the same time, we’ll keep helping people focus on the work that matters most, build new skills and, where it makes sense, find new opportunities across Microsoft.”
The company, which releases its quarterly financial results Wednesday, had approximately 223,000 full-time employees at the end of June.
Shares of Microsoft Corp., based in Redmond, Washington, hit an all-time high this month. The stock rose about 1% on Monday.
In May, Microsoft planned to offer buyouts to about 8,750 people, or 7% of its U.S. workforce, according to two people familiar with the plan who were not authorized to speak about it publicly. In July, the company said it was [cutting](https://apnews.com/article/xbox-layoffs-microsoft-sharma-5a8f712c531911089dee008b3bbb33c4) 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of its global workforce, including a large number of workers at its [Xbox video game](https://apnews.com/article/xbox-raises-prices-tariffs-microsoft-cd746a5aed59f3f5403ab262d6e149f0) business.
The gusher of investment in data centers — likely [topping $700 billion](https://apnews.com/article/tech-stocks-ai-investments-8a0ff4c95d5cae6f65c6e2ba03047058) this year — to power artificial intelligence has made memory chips, computer processors and other equipment, as well as electricity, more expensive. Economists expect it will continue to push up inflation at least through the end of this year.
Microsoft has been [ramping up](https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-ai-pcs-windows-recall-cc4c52316b035840f1590ef3a589cf0f) its AI capabilities for several years. In 2024 the company revealed a new class of AI-imbued personal computers that centered on fusing its AI assistant, called Copilot, into the Windows operating system for PCs, where Microsoft already has the eyes of millions of consumers.
And in October 2025 Microsoft introduced a new artificial intelligence character called [Mico](https://apnews.com/article/ai-character-mico-clippy-microsoft-a5937ca6778381907848e9a82d1131db), a floating cartoon face shaped like a blob or flame that embodies the software giant’s [Copilot virtual assistant](https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-50th-ai-ceo-mustafa-suleyman-copilot-e7d217f5d9ca9c40929570da2fff734a).
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