Microsoft Announces Major Downsizing - 60,000 Affected

AZ_HighCountry

INT'L MOD
Joined
Dec 23, 2024
Messages
13,818
Reaction score
16,913
Reputation
7,434.2
Country of Origin
Country of Residence
Source:
Link embedded in article
Voluntary exit is time limited.
Translation: miss the date, miss the package.

Take the 'voluntary' or you'd get the 'Involuntary'.
In some jobs there are almost-guaranteed 'job security' such as in some State / Fed jobs or 'the Union' job. Ten years ago, I held a State job with guarantees. They offered a Voluntary plan: One year pay and health insurance to me and my wife. I took that. I was extremely conflicted for the 5-6 weeks leading to the final day of the decision. During those days, a senior staff member approached me and wondered if I would take an enhanced role in future. I said No. Some fellow workers also begged me to stay and I still said No. I was too burnt out by then and frustrated. I had the time till the last minute of the work day to send an email to cancel my decision to leave. And I agonized and agonized till that minute but stayed with my decision to leave the job.

As I look back at that pivotal time of my life, I often wonder: Did I make the right decision by leaving? I had decent pay and decent 'Benefits' and was well respected as a software engineer. But it was also employee abuse which burned me to a crisp. I am a workaholic anyway! If I had stayed then almost certainly the salary would increase. But by leaving that State job, I was thrown into the Dog Eat Dog World of private companies where my Overachieving by finishing projects even before the deadlines have resulted in multiple layoffs.
 
Before Microsoft became Microslop, it held a very special place in my heart. I am from that generation that saw people like Bill Gates and Tim Berners-Lee as legends.
 
Take the 'voluntary' or you'd get the 'Involuntary'.
In some jobs there are almost-guaranteed 'job security' such as in some State / Fed jobs or 'the Union' job. Ten years ago, I held a State job with guarantees. They offered a Voluntary plan: One year pay and health insurance to me and my wife. I took that. I was extremely conflicted for the 5-6 weeks leading to the final day of the decision. During those days, a senior staff member approached me and wondered if I would take an enhanced role in future. I said No. Some fellow workers also begged me to stay and I still said No. I was too burnt out by then and frustrated. I had the time till the last minute of the work day to send an email to cancel my decision to leave. And I agonized and agonized till that minute but stayed with my decision to leave the job.

As I look back at that pivotal time of my life, I often wonder: Did I make the right decision by leaving? I had decent pay and decent 'Benefits' and was well respected as a software engineer. But it was also employee abuse which burned me to a crisp. I am a workaholic anyway! If I had stayed then almost certainly the salary would increase. But by leaving that State job, I was thrown into the Dog Eat Dog World of private companies where my Overachieving by finishing projects even before the deadlines have resulted in multiple layoffs.
Yup.

I know what you mean.
 
damn that's 25% which is still on the low side.......i was expecting more like 50% or more. Have a feeling that these losses are more on the programming and office type roles. Maybe more in india than the usa.
 
damn that's 25% which is still on the low side.......i was expecting more like 50% or more. Have a feeling that these losses are more on the programming and office type roles. Maybe more in india than the usa.
I don't know about you but 25% is pretty damn significant.

The article did not state the percentage breakdown by country the affected workforce.
 
US, CA, UK, and India all affected. Basically 25% of the workforce. Link below.


My understanding is in the USA if you take this you don’t get unemployment benefits? Not sure for the USA if they are worth it relative to the payout?
 
For those with inquiring minds:

The question.

1793053816250.png

The response:

No — as of October 26, 2026, Microsoft has not publicly announced a country-by-country breakdown of the approximately 60,000 employees eligible for its new voluntary exit program.

The company has confirmed that the program covers eligible employees in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and India, but the total figure does not reveal how many employees in each country are eligible. The announcement concerns voluntary buyouts, not 60,000 confirmed layoffs.
AP News
+2

CountryNumber affected / eligible
United StatesNot disclosed
CanadaNot disclosed
United KingdomNot disclosed
IndiaNot disclosed
There are a few useful details for context:
  • India: Microsoft has approximately 23,000 employees in the country, but reports say the number eligible for the offer is unknown.

    Tech News - Business Standard
    +1

  • United Kingdom: Microsoft has approximately 6,000 employees there, but the company has not disclosed how many are eligible.

    Sky News
    +1

  • United States and Canada: No confirmed country-specific eligibility figures were identified in today's reporting.

    Reuters
    +1
Bottom line: The only confirmed headline figure is approximately 60,000 employees eligible across all four countries combined. Microsoft has not published a reliable country-by-country allocation, and it would be misleading to estimate one from the total.

The Official Microsoft Blog
+1

Sources: Microsoft's official announcement and Reuters' report .
 
My understanding is in the USA if you take this you don’t get unemployment benefits? Not sure for the USA if they are worth it relative to the payout?
Excellent question.

The correct answer is? It depends on the state.

Here in AZ for example, if you take a voluntary severance and receive a package, you are still eligible for unemployment benefits AFTER the benefits of the package run out. For example, if you receive 20 weeks of pay as part of your package, unemployment benefits would not kick in until Week 21.
 
I did some quick checking.

Microsoft's next quarterly earnings report is scheduled for Oct. 28th. I would expect them to announce at that time how many personnel by country are eligible for the VSP.
 
My understanding is in the USA if you take this you don’t get unemployment benefits? Not sure for the USA if they are worth it relative to the payout?

That's right. If you leave on your own, no Unemployment benefits. I have been in both Voluntarily and Involuntarily situations. I did get once Unemployment Benefits, which I did reluctantly but someone convinced me that I had actually 'earned' those Benefits. Came to about $5000+ pre tax over about 4 months.
And once I did my 'Two Week Notice' because an Indian company took over the small shop I was employed it. Not only the Indians' incompetence but also their nasty attitude convinced me that I was not going to last long, especially they knowing I was a Pakistani. The new Lords of the company were abusive to the VP of the small American company as well and on the evening I left, he called me to express his support and told his own sorry story but, unlike me, he had young kids to raise and so 'bit my tongue'.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Country Watch Latest

Back
Top