Microsoft offers 'voluntary exit' buyouts to 60,000 employees in US, UK & Canada

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Microsoft sent its offer to around 223,000 employees in the company, offering a chance to 'leave Microsoft with financial support and career planning resources.'

TJ Denzer October 26, 2026 11:34 AM Gerard Julien/Getty Images 1

Microsoft has announced a voluntary exit offer for up to 60,000 of its employees, asking a pool of about 223,000 at the company to consider an employment buyout in exchange for financial support and career planning resources.

Executive Vice President Amy Coleman posted an official press release regarding the voluntary exit offer:

The release goes on to further explain which employees are eligible for the offer:

This comes as Xbox is already in the process of laying off 3,200 of its own employees, as well as closing down and divesting several studios along the way. This also comes after Microsoft laid off around 9,000 employees throughout 2025. Stay tuned to the Microsoft topic for more news and updates.

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TJ Denzer Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at [email protected] and also find him on BlueSky @JohnnyChugs.

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