Microsoft Offers 27% of Workers a Buyout

Microsoft has offered 60,000 employees, or about 27% of its global workforce, voluntary buyouts as the software giant spends heavily on artificial intelligence, per the AP. Company exec Amy Coleman (her title is "chief people officer") said in a blog post Monday that the company's voluntary exit offer was available to eligible employees in Canada, India, the UK, and the US.

"The Voluntary Exit Offer is new for us," Coleman wrote. "We'll learn from it. At the same time, we'll keep helping people focus on the work that matters most, build new skills and, where it makes sense, find new opportunities across Microsoft." The company, which releases its quarterly financial performance Wednesday, had approximately 223,000 full-time employees at the end of June. In July, the company said it was cutting 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of its global workforce, including a large number of workers at its Xbox video game business.