Microsoft offered up to 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its workforce, the option to leave the company voluntarily before December 31 through a program called a Voluntary Exit Offer. The offer mainly covers employees at level 70 and below in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States, while certain teams, including those related to data centers, sales and marketing, are excluded. The company says it does not intend to significantly reduce its workforce and expects an uptake rate below 5 %, compared with roughly 30 % in a previous voluntary retirement program. Amid increased investment in artificial intelligence, the move may reflect a shift toward less labor and more capital, with spending on property, equipment and capital expenditures reaching $45.2 billion in the latest quarter.
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