Microsoft is offering voluntary retirement buyouts for the first time in its 51-year history, according to reports cnbc And bloomberg.
With a few exceptions, employees will be eligible if they are age 70 or older, according to their years of work at Microsoft, according to an internal memo. So if a 52-year-old has served 18 years at Microsoft, he may qualify for a buyout.
The move gives Microsoft the opportunity to reduce its headcount in a less frictional way than mass layoffs. Over the past few years, Microsoft has faced several rounds of layoffs, affecting thousands of employees – most recently, the company laid off 9,000 jobs Last summer.
The company had an estimated 125,000 US employees as of June. The buyout will reportedly apply to 7% of the US workforce, amounting to about 8,750 employees.
TechCrunch has contacted Microsoft for comment.
