Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to approximately 60,000 employees across several divisions, including Xbox and Windows + Devices. The initiative, announced on October 26, 2026, covers more than a quarter of the company’s global workforce and represents another significant step in Microsoft’s ongoing organizational restructuring.
The program, called the Voluntary Exit Offer (VEO), allows eligible employees to leave Microsoft with financial support and career transition resources. It follows earlier workforce reductions across the company, including substantial changes within its Xbox gaming business.
Business Insider first reported the scale of the initiative, citing a Microsoft spokesperson. Reuters subsequently confirmed that Xbox and Windows + Devices are among the participating organizations, citing a source familiar with the matter. Microsoft’s official announcement establishes the program’s eligibility requirements but does not publicly identify every participating division.
Microsoft had approximately 223,000 full-time employees worldwide as of June 30, 2026. The reported 60,000 eligible employees therefore represent roughly 27% of its workforce. However, that figure describes the number of employees who can receive buyout offers, not the number who will necessarily leave the company.
Microsoft Chief People Officer Amy Coleman announced the program in an internal communication published on the company’s official blog.
The initiative is available to eligible employees at Microsoft’s internal level 70 and below in participating teams across the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. Not every organization is included, with Reuters identifying marketing, commercial business and security among the excluded divisions.
Employees who qualify will receive individual notifications explaining their available packages. Microsoft describes the arrangement as a time-limited, voluntary program providing financial assistance and career planning resources to employees considering opportunities outside the company.
According to GeekWire, employees have until the first week of December to decide whether to accept the offer. The publication also reports that the packages are equivalent to Microsoft’s standard severance arrangements, with compensation determined by factors including tenure and job level.
The inclusion of Xbox is particularly significant given the gaming division’s restructuring throughout 2026.
Microsoft has already implemented multiple rounds of workforce reductions affecting its gaming operations. Earlier changes included 268 Xbox job cuts alongside major development restructuring, while subsequent reports identified affected teams working on Halo, Gears of War and Call of Duty.
The new voluntary exit program differs from those layoffs because participating employees can decide whether to accept the company’s offer. Microsoft has not disclosed how many Xbox employees are eligible, how many it expects to leave, or which specific gaming studios and development teams are participating.
Consequently, there is currently no confirmed connection between the new program and additional game cancellations, studio closures, or changes to Xbox hardware development.
Windows + Devices is another participating organization, extending the initiative to Microsoft’s consumer operating system and hardware businesses. As with Xbox, the company has not provided a division-specific estimate of eligible employees or identified particular Windows projects affected by the program.
The broader initiative follows Microsoft’s earlier Voluntary Retirement Program, introduced in April 2026. That arrangement targeted approximately 8,750 eligible employees in the United States, with around 30% accepting the offer.
The latest program removes the earlier retirement-specific eligibility requirements, making voluntary departures available to a considerably wider group of employees. Microsoft has indicated that it expects a smaller proportion of eligible workers to accept this offer than participated in the previous retirement program.
The restructuring comes as Microsoft continues investing heavily in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company has forecast approximately $175 billion in capital expenditures for calendar 2026, reflecting substantial spending on data centers and computing hardware.
Although controlling costs forms part of the broader financial context, Microsoft describes the voluntary program as a way to provide employees with greater flexibility while allowing individual organizations to adjust their staffing to changing business requirements.
The company has not announced a target number of departures from the latest offer.
For Xbox and Windows users, the immediate development is therefore a significant workforce initiative affecting two major consumer technology divisions, rather than an announced change to products or services. The extent of its impact on individual teams will depend on employee participation and subsequent staffing decisions.
