Microsoft offers buyout for up to 7% of U.S. employees

Microsoft is offering voluntary retirement buyouts to eligible U.S. employees for the first time in its 51-year history, targeting up to 7% of its ~125,000-person U.S. workforce (approximately 8,750 employees). Employees qualify if their age plus years of service totals 70 or more. This move provides an alternative to involuntary layoffs as Microsoft manages headcount following recent workforce reductions, including 9,000 jobs cut last summer.