ItInsightsWorld General Coverage: Microsoft Voluntary Separation Program for 60,000 Workers, Terms Vary by Job Level and Region
Microsoft has extended a voluntary departure option to roughly 60,000 employees, according to recent Business Insider reporting. Multiple program documents show that financial treatment is not uniform: it changes with seniority, work location and length of service, while U.S. participants fall under Microsoft’s standard U.S. severance framework.
Who is eligible and what the deadline means
A Microsoft spokesperson said eligible workers must decide whether to take the offer before early December. Those who accept are expected to leave the company by the end of this year. The company currently has no plan to introduce another voluntary separation offering.
Microsoft uses a numbered career ladder that starts at entry-level grade 59 and reaches grade 70, a level comparable to vice president. The current offer covers qualified employees at grade 70 and below in selected teams across the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom.
How the severance formula is split
Program materials reviewed by Business Insider indicate that cash compensation is tiered by job level. Benefits are not limited to salary: participants may continue receiving stock awards under the normal schedule and may also maintain health insurance.
| Grade band | Core compensation terms |
|---|---|
| Grade 64 and below | One week of base salary for every six months completed |
| Grades 65 to 67 | Two weeks of base salary for every six months completed |
| Grade 67 and below | Under Microsoft’s standard U.S. severance arrangement, departing employees can continue to vest stock for six months or twelve months according to tenure; base salary compensation is capped at 39 weeks |
| Grade 68 | Standard severance package includes twelve months of pay |
| Grades 69 and 70 | Business Insider did not disclose the specific severance terms for these levels in this voluntary program |
Prior measures and wider industry context
Earlier this year, Microsoft offered a voluntary retirement option to U.S.-based staff. Around 8,750 people were eligible, equivalent to about 7% of its American workforce. Business Insider previously reported that that plan also followed Microsoft’s standard U.S. severance terms, including six or twelve months of continued stock vesting based on length of service.
Microsoft is not alone in trying to reshape headcount through voluntary exits. Business Insider has previously reported that Google offered a voluntary separation package to employees in certain business units earlier this year.
Some HR specialists told Business Insider that voluntary separation programs can soften the blow of layoffs, but if they are opened to employees with varied tenure, companies may also risk losing talent.