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Some Microsoft employees question launching an exit offer amid high profits and ask why H-1B or PERM-related roles were not adjusted first

On October 26, 2026, Microsoft Chief Human Resources Officer Amy Coleman issued an internal notice to employees announcing a new voluntary exit offer (VEO). The program is for eligible employees at participating teams in Canada, India, the UK, and the US at level 70 and below, and provides financial support and career planning resources as a limited-time voluntary program. Coleman said the move is intended to give employees considering leaving the company a choice and to help participating organizations adapt to changing needs, continuing the experience of the voluntary retirement program earlier this year.

A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to the media that about 60,000 employees, more than one quarter of the company’s roughly 223,000 employees, are eligible to participate, and the terms are similar to standard severance pay. Eligible employees will receive email details within hours, need to decide by early December, and will leave by year-end. Some organizations are fully participating, including AI Experiences, Copilot Agents & Platform, CoreAI, Finance, Human Resources, and Xbox; some are partially participating, including Cloud + AI, CELA, and Microsoft AI; Marketing, Microsoft Commercial Business, Microsoft Discovery & Quantum, Microsoft Security, and others are not participating. The company previously reported fiscal year 2026 net profit of $133.7 billion, up 31% year over year.

In internal discussions, some employees questioned launching the exit offer amid high profits and asked why H-1B or PERM-related roles were not adjusted first. These discussions appeared on the company’s internal platform and were later reposted by external accounts. Microsoft did not respond to specific immigration-related questions in its public statement. The company had previously had its PERM program suspended by the U.S. Department of Labor, and Vice President JD Vance had publicly criticized its hiring and visa usage, while Microsoft said that the vast majority of its U.S. employees are Americans and that most H-1B applications are for extensions for existing employees.

Original sources:

  1. Title: Introducing a Voluntary Exit Offer Publisher: Amy Coleman / Official Microsoft Blog Publication date: 2026-10-26 URL：https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/10/26/introducing-a-voluntary-exit-offer/ Source nature: Official company blog (public version of internal notice) Verification status: Full text read for this report, verification date 2026-10-27 Supporting content: Scope of the VEO program (Canada, India, the UK, and the US; level 70 and below), voluntary nature, differences among participating organizations

  2. Title: Microsoft Is Offering Buyouts. Read the Memo. Publisher: Business Insider (Ashley Stewart) Publication date: 2026-10-26 URL：https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-is-offering-buyouts-read-the-memo-2026-10 Source nature: Reliable media report (includes company spokesperson confirmation and memo) Verification status: Read for this report, verification date 2026-10-27 Supporting content: About 60,000 eligible employees, standard severance terms, early-December deadline, background of the earlier retirement program

  3. Title: Microsoft FY26 Q4 Press Release Publisher: Microsoft Investor Relations Publication date: July 2026 (fiscal year end) URL：https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/earnings/fy-2026-q4/press-release-webcast Source nature: Official company financial announcement Verification status: Read for this report, verification date 2026-10-27 Supporting content: FY26 net profit of $133.7 billion, up 31% year over year

ABAB AI Insight

Microsoft’s VEO this time is significantly larger than the voluntary retirement program earlier this year, for which about 9,000 people were eligible. The program covers AI-related teams and businesses such as Xbox, while explicitly excluding security and some commercial teams, showing that the company is controlling labor costs while preserving core delivery capacity. About 60,000 eligible people does not mean 60,000 actual departures; historical voluntary programs usually have low acceptance rates.

Employee internal criticism focused on two points: why push departures amid high profits, and the relationship with H-1B/PERM usage. In early October, the U.S. Department of Labor had already suspended Microsoft and other companies’ PERM programs, and Vance publicly cited comparisons of the company’s layoffs and visa data. Microsoft’s official response stressed that most H-1B cases are extensions for existing employees and that American employees make up the majority. Internal discussions reflect some American employees’ concerns about role priorities, but there is no public evidence showing that the company prioritized selection in this VEO based on nationality or visa status.

For Indian employees, if they accept an exit while holding H-1B status in the United States, they would need to find a new sponsor or adjust their status, otherwise their lawful stay could be affected. The company did not disclose the eligible share by nationality or visa type. This program comes amid a sharp increase in AI infrastructure capital expenditures, and the company has already adjusted headcount through both voluntary and involuntary means.

Key observation indicators are the actual acceptance rate, the final departure size among participating organizations, and whether subsequent regulatory action on Microsoft’s visa usage intersects with this workforce adjustment.

ABAB News · Laws of cognition

  1. The number eligible for a voluntary exit offer is far greater than the number who actually leave; the acceptance rate determines the real impact.

  2. When workforce adjustments during a period of high profits coexist with disputes over visa usage, internal discussions tend to connect the two, but company statements and employee views should be distinguished.