Overview
- Microsoft unveiled Thursday its first U.S. voluntary retirement program, giving select long‑tenured employees a paid exit option.
- Eligibility covers staff at Level 67 and below whose age plus years of service total 70, excluding employees on sales incentive plans, with reports estimating about 7% of U.S. workers could qualify.
- Eligible employees and their managers will receive details on May 7 and have 30 days to decide, and the program is slated to take effect in Microsoft’s fiscal fourth quarter ending June 30.
- Alongside the offer, Microsoft is changing pay practices by decoupling stock awards from cash bonuses and cutting manager review pay options from nine to five.
- The company’s growing AI and data‑center spending forms the backdrop for the move, and CFO Amy Hood is expected to discuss the plan on the April 29 earnings call.