Microsoft starts buyouts, $110B capex
- Microsoft began its first voluntary U.S. employee buyout on April 23, offering exits to eligible staff as it keeps expanding data centers for AI. - The one-time program covers workers at senior director level and below whose age plus years of service equal 70; about 7% qualify. - Investors are weighing that cost reset against surging AI spend before Microsoft reports fiscal third-quarter results on April 29. (cnbc.com)
Microsoft has started its first voluntary U.S. employee buyout, opening a one-time retirement program as it keeps pouring money into artificial intelligence infrastructure. (cnbc.com) The program was announced Thursday, April 23, and applies to U.S. employees at the senior director level and below whose age plus years of service add up to 70 or more. Eligible workers and their managers are due to receive details on May 7, and employees on sales incentive plans are excluded. (cnbc.com) About 7% of Microsoft’s U.S. workforce is eligible, according to a person familiar with the plan cited by CNBC. Microsoft had 228,000 employees worldwide as of June 2025, including 125,000 in the United States. (cnbc.com) (microsoft.com) At the same time, Microsoft is still accelerating spending on the data centers, chips and networking that power Azure and its AI products. The company said capital expenditures were $34.9 billion in fiscal first quarter 2026 and $37.5 billion in fiscal second quarter 2026. (microsoft.com) (geekwire.com) That spending is tied to demand Microsoft says is still rising. In its January 28 fiscal second-quarter results, Azure and other cloud services revenue grew 39%, and Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $51.5 billion. (microsoft.com 1) (microsoft.com 2) The buyout lands after multiple layoff rounds in 2025 and alongside changes to compensation. Microsoft is decoupling stock awards from cash bonuses in annual rewards, giving managers more flexibility in how they pay high performers. (cnbc.com) Chief people officer Amy Coleman said in a memo viewed by CNBC that the company hopes eligible workers can take “that next step on their own terms, with generous company support.” Microsoft has not publicly tied a dollar figure to the buyout program. (cnbc.com) Investors now have a near-term date to judge whether the spending is paying off. Microsoft’s investor relations site lists its fiscal 2026 third-quarter earnings call for April 29, 2026, with Azure growth and AI demand likely to stay at the center of the discussion. (microsoft.com)
