Microsoft is offering voluntary retirement buyouts to eligible employees for the first time in its 51-year history, according to reports from CNBC and Bloomberg. The company will consider applications from staff whose years of service at Microsoft plus their age total 70 or more, with some exceptions.
The move allows Microsoft to reduce its headcount without resorting to mass layoffs, a path it has taken in the past. Over the last few years, the company has weathered several rounds of job cuts, affecting thousands of employees, including a recent reduction of 9,000 jobs last summer.
The buyouts would reportedly apply to around 7% of Microsoft's U.S. workforce, amounting to approximately 8,750 employees, out of an estimated 125,000 staff as of June.