AI spending surges, Microsoft opens exit door to 60,000 employees

Microsoft launched a time-limited Voluntary Exit Offer (VEO) for approximately 60,000 employees in the US, Canada, the UK and India, as the software and cloud provider reshapes its workforce around rising investment in artificial intelligence. The offer applies to eligible employees in participating teams at Level 70 and below and covers about one-quarter of Microsoft's global workforce of approximately 223,000 employees as of the end of June 2026.