Microsoft offered severance packages to 60,000 employees for AI investments

Software giant Microsoft has offered voluntary departure packages, including rights similar to standard severance pay, to approximately 60,000 employees in order to support artificial intelligence infrastructure spending and rebalance its budgets. Company officials expect the number of personnel accepting this offer to be much lower compared to the retirement program in July.

Since 2022, when Microsoft focused heavily on artificial intelligence and data center investments, it has kept its total headcount of around 223,000 largely flat. More than 30 percent of the 8,750 people eligible for the early retirement offer in July had responded positively. With this latest broad-based package, company units have gained a new method to adapt their workforce according to changing needs.

Similarly, other major tech companies such as Google and Meta Platforms have also resorted to reducing their headcounts in order to allocate resources to artificial intelligence infrastructure spending. The rapid transformation and pace of work focusing on artificial intelligence across the sector continue to shape the staffing strategies of technology giants.