Microsoft Introduces Voluntary Exit Offer for Eligible Employees

Microsoft introduced a Voluntary Exit Offer for eligible employees on 26 жовтня 2026, a time-limited and voluntary program that lets workers in participating teams in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States at level 70 and below leave the company with financial support and career planning resources, according to a post on The Official Microsoft Blog.

Amy Coleman, executive vice president and chief people officer, shared the communication with employees. Coleman wrote that the program gives employees who may be weighing a future outside the company a supported way to make that transition now, and gives participating organizations another way to adjust their workforces to changing needs.

Not every part of the company is taking part. Some organizations are providing the offer and some are not, with participation varying based on each business’s priorities, customer commitments and workforce needs, the post states. Eligible employees were told they would receive an email with a link to their offer details within hours of the announcement. The post originated as a Viva Engage post edited slightly for external use.

Coleman described the program as part of how Microsoft is evolving its approach to change, and said it builds on what the company learned earlier this year through its Voluntary Retirement Program.

“The Voluntary Exit Offer is new for us. We’ll learn from it,” Coleman wrote. She said there is no one-size-fits-all approach for every team or every employee, and that Microsoft would keep helping people focus on priority work, build new skills and, where it makes sense, find new opportunities across the company.

Workforce Documented in Annual Filing

Microsoft employed approximately 223,000 people on a full-time basis as of 30 червня 2026, according to its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 30 червня 2026, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 29 липня 2026. Of that total, 121,000 employees were in the United States and 102,000 were international. By function, 89,000 worked in operations, 77,000 in product research and development, 43,000 in sales and marketing, and 14,000 in general and administration. The filing states that certain employees are subject to collective bargaining agreements.

The filing reports Xbox within Microsoft’s More Personal Computing segment, which covers Xbox hardware and Xbox content and services, including first- and third-party games, Game Pass and other subscriptions, and cloud gaming.

July Role Eliminations

The October offer follows a 6 липня 2026 memo to employees in which Coleman said Microsoft was eliminating around 4,800 roles, about 2.1% of its global workforce, to focus people, investments and energy on the company’s priorities. Coleman said Microsoft had redeployed more than 4,000 employees into new roles over the prior year, including another 500 that month. She also said more than 30% of eligible employees had chosen to participate in the earlier voluntary retirement program, and that Microsoft would continue exploring similar approaches.

Coleman said the July changes mostly fell within the company’s Commercial and Xbox organizations. “I also want to be direct that the roles eliminated today are not being replaced by AI,” she wrote, adding that AI is changing how work gets done and that some everyday tasks can now be automated. The July memo also said Microsoft would transition four of its gaming studios to operate under new management, with the stated goal of preserving their intellectual property and ongoing projects.

Xbox Studio and Leadership Changes

Xbox chief Asha Sharma detailed the gaming side of the July changes in a memo sent to Team Xbox employees and published on Xbox Wire the same day. Sharma said Xbox would reduce its team by approximately 3,200 throughout fiscal 2027, including approximately 1,600 role eliminations that day, in what she called the most significant restructure in Xbox history. She said the decisions did not reflect the talent or dedication of those affected. She also said none of Xbox’s first-party publicly announced games or projects were being cancelled as part of the reductions, which vary in size across Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King, Mojang and Xbox Game Studios.

Under the plan, Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions will transition to independent studios with their intellectual property, catalogs and runway for their next games. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have entered terms to join new ownership with funding to complete and grow Senua and State of Decay 3. Arkane’s management was beginning required consultation with its Works Council in France to review potential strategic options.

Sharma said Mojang and King, which she described as Xbox’s largest studios by monthly active players, would report directly to her. Helen Chiang was promoted to a newly established chief operating officer role with end-to-end profit-and-loss responsibility across content, hardware, platform and services. Sharma said Xbox would reduce management layers to no more than five and, where possible, three, and streamline its work with 50% reduced vendor spend. Dave McCarthy is retiring after 17 years with Xbox.