TLDR
- Microsoft (MSFT) stock closed at $532.60 on Monday, up $8.09 or 2%.
- The company offered voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees in the U.S., Canada, India and the U.K.
- Workers must decide in early December, and those who accept leave on Dec. 31.
- Microsoft plans $190 billion in capital spending in 2026, mostly for AI.
- Quarterly earnings come Wednesday, with updates on capex and Azure growth.
Microsoft (MSFT) stock closed at $532.60 on Monday, up $8.09 or 2%. The move came as the company announced a voluntary exit offer for about 60,000 employees.
In after-hours trading, the stock slipped $2.81, a drop of 1%. Earnings are due Wednesday.
The offer covers workers in the U.S., Canada, India and the U.K. at level 70 and below. That includes some senior staff.
What the offer covers
About 60,000 people are eligible, according to a person familiar with the matter. That is roughly 27% of Microsoft’s 223,000 employees.
BREAKING: Microsoft, $MSFT, is offering buyouts to 60,000 workers as part of the company’s efforts to cut costs amid AI adoption, per Bloomberg.
Personnel on select teams in the US, Canada, India, and the UK at a vice president level and below will be eligible.
This reflects…
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) October 26, 2026
Employees must decide in early December. Those who accept will leave on Dec. 31.
Some marketing, sales and engineering teams have chosen not to take part, the person said. Microsoft does not have a target number this time.
Amy Coleman, the chief people officer, wrote in a memo that the offer creates “greater flexibility” and more ways for employees to shape their next chapter. She said it builds on lessons from the earlier retirement program.
That program came first. Packages ranged from eight to 39 weeks of base pay, depending on role and tenure.
About 7% of U.S. employees were eligible, and more than 30% of those who could join did. That offer reached senior director level 67 and below, while the new one goes up to vice president level.
In July, Microsoft also announced plans to lay off 4,800 employees. That makes three staffing moves in a single year.
Spending and cash flow
Microsoft plans to spend $190 billion on capital expenditures in 2026, largely tied to AI. Spending for the September quarter should top $50 billion, up from $34.9 billion a year earlier.
That build-out has put pressure on the company’s finances. Microsoft supplies cloud services to Anthropic, OpenAI and many other firms.
Free cash flow came in at $19.64 billion in the second quarter, down 23% from a year ago. Alphabet and Amazon both reported negative free cash flow for the period.
Microsoft is also changing how it bills clients, moving toward charging based on how much AI they use. It has given programmers, sellers and supply chain workers AI tools.
The company says it wants the right talent for its newest growth areas. It also wants to make the shift without weakening its financial profile.
Microsoft reports quarterly results on Wednesday. Investors will look for updates on its capex plans and Azure cloud growth.
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