--- title: "Microsoft offers 60,000 employees buyouts before Wednesday earnings as capex matches its $35.8 billion profit" description: "A voluntary exit offer covers about 60,000 people, a quarter of Microsoft's workforce, two days before its fiscal first-quarter report. Quarterly capital spending has just matched a quarter's entire profit, and the memo shows which cost line the company can still cut." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Policy & Labor" published: 2026-10-26T17:19:56.257Z modified: 2026-10-26T17:19:56.257Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/microsoft-offers-60-000-employees-buyouts-before-wednesday-earnings-as-capex-matches-its-35-8-billion-profit language: en keywords: "Microsoft, Layoffs, Earnings, Capex, Azure" --- # Microsoft offers 60,000 employees buyouts before Wednesday earnings as capex matches its $35.8 billion profit > A voluntary exit offer covers about 60,000 people, a quarter of Microsoft's workforce, two days before its fiscal first-quarter report. Quarterly capital spending has just matched a quarter's entire profit, and the memo shows which cost line the company can still cut. ## A quarter of Microsoft gets an exit offer On Monday, October 26, chief people officer [Amy Coleman](https://theinference.org/markets/people/amy-coleman) told about 60,000 [Microsoft](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/microsoft) employees they can take the money and leave [1]. [The Voluntary Exit Offer covers staff at internal level 70 and below](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/26/microsoft-offers-buyouts-to-around-60000-employees-reports-say/), a band reaching general managers and some vice presidents, on participating teams in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom; data-center, sales and marketing workers are excluded [1]. Coleman framed it as "[a new choice to make that transition now with support](https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-is-offering-buyouts-read-the-memo-2026-10)." Takers get terms similar to standard severance, a deadline in early December and a year-end exit [2]. That pool is about a quarter of a workforce that stood at 223,000 on June 30, down from 228,000 a year earlier and before July's 4,800 cuts; the company shed more than 15,000 jobs across 2025 [3]. Microsoft says the offer is not a signal it needs fewer people, and not a replacement for layoffs [3]. *Chart: **The exit offer pool is about a quarter of the workforce** Column chart comparing Microsoft's headcount of 228,000 on June 30, 2025 and 223,000 on June 30, 2026 with the roughly 60,000 employees covered by the new voluntary exit offer.* *Microsoft's headcount on June 30 of each year, and the employees covered by the voluntary exit offer announced October 26, 2026, in thousands. The June 2026 count precedes July's 4,800 cuts. Source: GeekWire, citing company figures. [3]* ## Capital spending has caught the profit line The June quarter was the first in which Microsoft's cash capital spending matched its net income: $35.8 billion on each side [4][7]. Net property and equipment climbed from $205 billion to $313 billion in a year [4]. Chief financial officer [Amy Hood](https://theinference.org/markets/people/amy-hood) [has guided September-quarter spending above $50 billion including lease accounting](https://financefeeds.com/microsoft-stock-before-wednesdays-results-the-45-azure-guide-and-50-billion-capex-quarter/) [5], inside a reported $190 billion capital plan for 2026 [6]. Gross margin, 71% in late 2023, closed June at 67%, with Xbox content and services revenue down 10% and Windows OEM and devices down 7% [4][7]. [The Inference charted that crossover on October 23](https://theinference.org/article/microsoft-s-41-billion-capex-quarter-tops-its-35-8-billion-net-income-and-maia-is-the-bet); the buyout is the page after it. *Chart: **Capital spending caught up with a quarter's entire profit** Line chart of Microsoft's quarterly cash capital expenditure rising from about $11 billion in early 2024 to $35.8 billion in the June 2026 quarter, meeting the net income line, which ends at $35.8 billion.* *Cash additions to property and equipment versus net income, US$ billions per quarter, quarters ending the calendar quarter shown. Source: Microsoft quarterly figures from its SEC filings. [7]* ## Wall Street's targets and the memo's arithmetic The same Monday morning, the brokerages Oppenheimer and [Truist](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/truist-financial) raised their targets to $625 from $570 and to $600 from $575, both arguing that capacity, not demand, is what caps Azure, against a $678 billion contracted backlog up 84% in a year [4][8]. Consensus for Wednesday sits at $90.75 billion of revenue and $4.72 of earnings per share [8]. Investing.com's InvestingPro models put fair value at $564.21, 7.4% above a $526.50 stock already within 4% of its record [9]. The memo has its own math: [May's retirement pilot drew about 30% of 8,750 eligible employees at a $900 million charge](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/microsoft-makes-new-voluntary-exit-offer-to-about-a-quarter-of-its-workforce-including-some-execs/ar-AA2g6wWS), near $350,000 an exit, and the same share here would book over $6 billion [3]. Microsoft told the Seattle news site GeekWire it expects a much smaller share [3]. ## Wednesday sets the tab Results land after the close on Wednesday, October 28, and the release may carry the offer's first cost estimate, as April's did for the retirement program [3]. Hold the capex guide and the 44–45% currency-neutral Azure growth target against it [5]. The demand got a $625 price target; the cost of that demand got a December deadline [5]. ## Takeaway Microsoft's voluntary exit offer covers about 60,000 employees, a quarter of its workforce, with terms like standard severance and an early-December deadline. At May retirement pilot's 30% take-up rate the charge would top $6 billion, and Wednesday's report may carry the offer's first cost estimate. ## Sources 1. [TechCrunch, "Microsoft offers buyouts to around 60,000 employees, reports say", 26 October 2026](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/26/microsoft-offers-buyouts-to-around-60000-employees-reports-say/) 2. [Business Insider, Ashley Stewart, "Microsoft is offering buyouts to around 60,000 employees. Read the memo.", 26 October 2026](https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-is-offering-buyouts-read-the-memo-2026-10) 3. [GeekWire, Todd Bishop, "Microsoft makes new voluntary exit offer to about a quarter of its workforce, including some execs", 26 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/microsoft-makes-new-voluntary-exit-offer-to-about-a-quarter-of-its-workforce-including-some-execs/ar-AA2g6wWS) 4. [Microsoft investor relations, FY26 Q4 earnings release, 29 July 2026](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/earnings/fy-2026-q4/press-release-webcast) 5. [FinanceFeeds, "Microsoft Stock Before Wednesday's Results: The 45% Azure Guide, and $50 Billion Capex Quarter", 25 October 2026](https://financefeeds.com/microsoft-stock-before-wednesdays-results-the-45-azure-guide-and-50-billion-capex-quarter/) 6. [Yahoo Finance, "Microsoft offers voluntary buyout to 60,000 employees", 26 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/article/microsoft-offers-voluntary-buyout-to-60000-employees-160011034.html) 7. [Microsoft, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 26 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000789019) 8. [Yahoo Finance / StockTwits, "MSFT Stock Gets Wall Street's Attention Ahead Of Earnings: Truist, Oppenheimer Raise Targets On Azure Growth Outlook", 26 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/msft-stock-gets-wall-street-151842926.html) 9. [Yahoo Finance / Investing.com, "Microsoft's $678B AI backlog is massive, but is the stock priced for perfection", 26 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/microsoft-678b-ai-backlog-massive-151826866.html) --- Microsoft offers 60,000 employees buyouts before Wednesday earnings as capex matches its $35.8 billion profit — The Inference. 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