Microsoft Offers Employees Voluntary Departure

Microsoft has offered a significant portion of its workforce the option to leave the company voluntarily as part of efforts to reduce costs and increase investment in artificial intelligence.

According to “Business Insider”, the move is part of a new strategy aimed at avoiding compulsory layoffs.

The initiative covers employees working in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and India.

The measure does not apply to senior executives or employees in engineering roles.

Eligible employees are expected to make their decision by early December.

Microsoft currently has around 226,000 employees, and the offer could potentially apply to more than a quarter of the company’s workforce.

The company tested a similar voluntary departure program earlier this year. At that time, nearly one-third of around 9,000 employees who met certain age and length-of-service criteria accepted the offer.