# Microsoft offers a quarter of its workforce voluntary severance while shielding AI-critical teams

**Published:** October 31, 2026
**Author:** Manuel Uth
**Source:** The Decoder
**Language:** en-US
**HTML:** https://aiqazaqstan.com/en/articles/microsoft-offers-a-quarter-of-its-workforce-voluntary-severance-while-sh

Microsoft is offering voluntary severance packages to about 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its workforce, in the second such program this year. The company's headcount has held flat at around 223,000 since 2022 even as it plans to spend about $170 billion on AI…

> From the original source: **The Decoder**
> [Read full article at The Decoder](https://the-decoder.com/microsoft-offers-a-quarter-of-its-workforce-voluntary-severance-while-shielding-ai-critical-teams/)

**Tags:** #Microsoft

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