Compiled from reports by Tech Times and The Post Millennial. See the original articles linked below.
This article reports news and is not legal advice.
Microsoft has announced a voluntary exit offer covering about 60,000 employees, and the move comes shortly after the federal government suspended the company from a key green card process, according to Tech Times and The Post Millennial.
The offer
The Post Millennial reported that the “Voluntary Exit Offer” was announced on 26 October and covers staff at level 70 and below in participating teams in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. The outlet put the group at roughly 27 percent of a global workforce of about 223,000 as of 30 June. Tech Times described the recipients as roughly a quarter of the workforce and said it is the company's largest such program in 51 years.
Both outlets reported that employees have until early December to decide. Tech Times said those who accept would leave at the end of the year and that data center staff and some sales and marketing roles are excluded. The Post Millennial reported that Microsoft says the package matches its standard severance and that the company has not said how many it expects to accept. It also reported that Microsoft says layoffs remain possible depending on business conditions.
The PERM suspension
According to both outlets, the Department of Labor suspended Microsoft on 8 October from the PERM program, the permanent labor certification that is the first step in many employment-based green card applications. The Post Millennial reported that the suspension did not cancel existing H-1B visas.
Tech Times reported that H-1B workers with pending green card applications could lose them by leaving the company, and that Indian-born employees, who already face long backlogs, could be affected most. It also said Microsoft disputes the Labor Department's characterization and that the investigation has produced no public finding.
The Post Millennial reported that Vice President JD Vance announced a federal crackdown on Microsoft over allegations that it sought foreign workers for jobs held by laid-off Americans. It quoted Vance as saying no company in the United States had abused the system more than Microsoft. The outlet said Attorney General Todd Blanche cited figures that Microsoft laid off 6,000 American workers in 2025 while receiving more than 6,000 H-1B approvals and filing 3,682 PERM applications.
Microsoft responded, according to The Post Millennial, that about 80 percent of its roughly 6,000 H-1B filings in the last fiscal year were extensions or status changes for current employees, and that the remainder covered new hires already legally in the United States, about 1 percent of its US workforce.
Earlier reductions
Tech Times listed Microsoft's earlier 2026 reductions as an April voluntary retirement program, about 6,000 layoffs in May, 4,800 in July and 268 Xbox jobs in September, with headcount falling from about 228,000 to 223,000. The Post Millennial reported that about 30 percent of the roughly 8,750 eligible US employees accepted the earlier voluntary retirement offer, and that the July cuts were about 2.1 percent of the global workforce.
Tech Times also quoted workforce experts who questioned whether a buyout during repeated layoffs is truly voluntary, with one arguing that those who decline could face worse terms later. It said Microsoft's earnings call, scheduled for Wednesday, is expected to address the program's cost and the status of the suspension.
Sources
- Microsoft's 60,000-Worker Buyout Offer Follows Freeze of Its Green Card Program (Tech Times, 2026-10-27)
- Microsoft to buyout 60,000 employees as Vance announces H-1B visa crackdown (The Post Millennial, 2026-10-27)
This article was compiled with AI assistance from the reports listed above and reviewed by GMA before publishing.