Microsoft Offers Buyouts to 60,000 Staff to Offset AI Capex
MSFT sits 52% above its 52-week low of $349.2.
Summary
Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to roughly 60,000 employees — about 27% of its 223,000 workforce — across the US, Canada, India and the UK at experience level 70 or below. No departure target is set; eligible staff decide by early December and would leave Dec. 31. This is the third cost action this year, after a voluntary retirement program and a July cut of 4,800 jobs, and it lands as the company pours money into AI data centers for customers including Anthropic and OpenAI. The signal is margin defense against a capex bill that nearly doubled to $115.9B in FY26, with Q1 FY27 capex guided above $50B. Q3 results are due Wednesday, the first read on whether cost actions are offsetting the AI buildout.
Updates
· Dow Jones Newswires — Microsoft's buyout offer to about 60,000 staff is the largest voluntary buyout in its history; it excluded some divisions, and participation depends on business priorities and workforce needs.
At the time of this announcement, MSFT was trading at $532.43 on NASDAQ in the Technology sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $4T. The 52-week trading range was $349.20 to $553.72. This news item was assessed with neutral market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: dpa-AFX.