The tech giant offered buyouts to a quarter of its workforce as it looks to reduce spending.

Two weeks ago, Microsoft presented 60,000 employees, more than a quarter of its workforce, with an enticing offer. They could choose to leave Microsoft of their own accord in exchange for a severance package. 

“This offer gives eligible employees who may be considering a future outside the company a new choice to make that transition now with support,” chief people officer Amy Coleman said in a memo to workers in late October.

According to a new report from The New York Times, Microsoft employees flocked to an internal website within an hour of the buyout announcement to find out if they had received an offer.

So many workers were checking at once that employees speculated that traffic had overwhelmed the site. 

A handful of Microsoft employees who spoke with the Times said that the buyout offer added strain to an already tense relationship between employees and leadership. They said the buyout proposal arrived amid rising pressure to adopt AI, frustration over flat pay and deepening worries about job security.

The voluntary exit offer is the biggest in the company’s history and marks Microsoft’s second buyout this year. 

For Microsoft employees, a buyout means weighing the options. Is the payment enough to make leaving worthwhile?

Workers look at the financial incentive offered by the buyout and weigh it against household expenses , health insurance costs and time needed to find another job.

Source link