GoKawiil
Tech News
A widespread Microsoft service disruption on Thursday left businesses and government agencies unable to access critical services. The outage occurred while the company is in the midst of significant workforce reductions, even as it continues to invest billions of dollars in artificial intelligence.
Microsoft has offered voluntary buyout packages to roughly 60,000 workers, more than a quarter of its total staff, as an alternative to layoffs. The move follows a broader trend of companies turning to voluntary exit programs to reduce headcount rather than conducting forced job cuts.
Microsoft has extended a voluntary exit offer to about 60,000 employees across the US, Canada, India and the UK, covering workers at experience level 70 or below. Executive vice president Amy Coleman announced the program on the company blog, describing it as building on an earlier voluntary retirement offer from April that was open to about 7% of US staff and saw over 30% uptake. Eligible employees are being notified by email with program details.
Microsoft's Chief People Officer Amy Coleman told staff the company is offering voluntary exit packages to roughly a quarter of its workforce, covering select employees at level 70 and below in the U.S., U.K., Canada and India. A company spokesperson said the terms mirror standard severance, including tenure-based pay, stock, health care and career services, and that eligibility was set by individual organization leaders, excluding groups like sales.
Microsoft has introduced a voluntary buyout program for workers in several of its large business divisions, giving them a limited window of a few weeks to decide whether to accept. The move is part of the company's broader effort to cut costs.
Microsoft is offering a Voluntary Exit Offer to roughly 60,000 employees at vice president level and below across select teams in the US, Canada, India and the UK, according to Business Insider and Bloomberg reports. Workers in data centers, sales and marketing are excluded, and those who accept will reportedly get benefits similar to a standard severance package. Chief People Officer Amy Coleman described the offer in an internal note as giving employees 'a new choice' to leave with support.
Barclays has become the latest major company to reduce its workforce, citing efficiency gains tied to artificial intelligence investment. The move follows a pattern across industries this year where firms are cutting jobs or slowing hiring while redirecting spending toward AI infrastructure and capabilities.
eBay plans to cut roughly 1,000 jobs, or 9% of its workforce, according to a memo from CEO Jamie Iannone. The company had 12,300 employees at the end of last year and already cut about 800 jobs, or 6% of staff, in February. Iannone said affected employees would be notified in the coming days.
Several technology companies, including Netflix, HubSpot and Flock Safety, announced workforce reductions in October as part of a continuing wave of layoffs across the sector in 2025. The cuts add to a year already marked by heavy job losses at technology firms.
Netflix has eliminated roughly 6% of its jobs, marking its biggest round of layoffs since 2022. The reduction affects staff across the company, though specific departments and total headcount impacted were not detailed.
HubSpot co-founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah published a short LinkedIn post thanking employees affected by the company's recent 7% workforce reduction, describing it as a 'parting of ways.' The post prompted a wave of critical responses from LinkedIn users who objected to its tone.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced the company will shrink its workforce by about 10%, or roughly 3,300 employees, marking its biggest round of job cuts since the pandemic. The move focuses heavily on middle management roles, part of a broader corporate trend of flattening organizational structures.