When is a firing technically not a firing? When it’s a voluntary exit offer. That’s what’s being attempted by Microsoft, as it has sent out a memo to employees that offers them a package of benefits to leave the corporation voluntarily.
The voluntary exit offer is described by a Microsoft spokesperson as “similar to Microsoft’s standard severance,” which includes a minimum of 60 days of base pay and up to 39 weeks of base pay depending on seniority and tenure The memo was issued to around 60,000 employees at Microsoft, which is just over 25% of its entire workforce. Readers may recall that a similar offer was made by Microsoft this past April
What isn’t clear is whether employees at Xbox are being included in this buyout
(this is confirmed to now be the case, see the update below), which has been a focal point of job cuts in recent weeks. With word that layoffs will be happening in three stages over the course of the next several months, including this October, we’re still having to wait and see, but at least some workers are being offered something. It would just be nice if Microsoft didn’t prefer burning cash on AI first and foremost.
