Microsoft offered buyouts to 60,000 people while saying AI isn't why

Who is eligible, and who isn't

According to KUOW, Chief People Officer Amy Coleman's memo opens a Voluntary Exit Offer to select employees in the US, UK, Canada and India at level 70 and below, a ceiling that stops at vice president. Terms are comparable to standard severance: base pay for a period tied to tenure, stock granted over time, health care and career services. Each organization's head decided who is eligible, so sales, some corporate services and some engineering teams are out.

The previous round, early retirement for level 67 and below, drew about 30% of those eligible. Microsoft expects a lower rate now because the terms are less generous. A spokesperson said AI is not driving the buyouts.

"Reversing 2020 to 2022 net headcount growth"

"this is essentially reversing 2020-2022 net headcount growth." — a commenter who sees a shift from experimental to conservative budgets

Others read the same list from the inside:

"Constant reorgs, the work not being aligned to my capabilities and unfortunately just the general feeling that I was under worked and had very little opportunity for career advancement." — an ex-Microsoft L63 who resigned in June after eight years

And the selection problem:

"My former boss at Microsoft told me this sort of thing is a good way to get rid of your best, most employable employees." — a former Microsoft employee

Acceptance can go the other way

A commenter who watched another company run a buyout described management expecting few takers, then watching acceptances flood in on day two, with people signing in fear of layoffs without a package. The company ended up promising the same terms if layoffs followed within three years.

For anyone holding the offer, the open question in the thread was less the money than the fallback: another poster pointed out that declining could leave you inside whichever team is then cut if too few accept.