Microsoft offers buyouts to 60,000 staff, excludes data-center and cybersecurity roles

Microsoft announced a voluntary buyout program that covers roughly 60,000 employees, representing about a quarter of its global staff. The offer applies to workers in divisions such as Xbox, Windows, Copilot and finance, while employees in roles tied to data centers, cybersecurity, quantum computing, sales and marketing are excluded, Bloomberg reported.

The move comes as the company reassesses staffing levels amid broader industry cuts, with artificial-intelligence tools already generating around 30% of Microsoft’s code a year and a half ago. Analysts are expected to examine which teams are protected when Microsoft reports earnings later this week.

"The teams we are retaining reflect the areas we see as critical to our long-term strategy," a Microsoft spokesperson said.