Microsoft employees can get up to 39 weeks of base pay under buyout offers
The standard severance cap applies to employees at level 67 and below, while level 68 employees receive a different standard package. Offers also include stock vesting and health coverage.
Microsoft employees offered a voluntary exit from the company can receive up to 39 weeks of base pay under standard severance terms, along with continued stock vesting and health insurance, according to specific offers reviewed by Business Insider.
The packages vary by seniority and length of service. Employees at Microsoft's internal levels 64 and below are offered one week of base pay for every six months worked, while those at levels 65 through 67 are offered two weeks for every six months of service.
The standard severance cap for employees at level 67 and below is 39 weeks of base pay. At level 68, the standard package includes 12 months of salary. The offers also provide continued regular stock vesting, with employees at level 67 and below eligible for six or 12 months of vesting depending on their years of service, as well as health insurance.
Business Insider reported that the offers are individualized according to an employee's level, location and tenure, and that the US packages follow Microsoft's existing severance framework.
The details add a clearer picture of the financial terms available under Microsoft's new voluntary exit program. About 60,000 employees are eligible, according to Microsoft. The offers cover selected teams in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, extending to some employees at level 70, which includes vice presidents. The offer does not include teams in Israel.
In October, CTech reported that about 50 employees on Microsoft’s Copilot Studio team had been summoned to pre-dismissal hearings as part of a wider organizational shift, with about half expected to remain in roles within the Israeli research and development center. The Israeli changes are part of the broader restructuring, though they are separate from the newly announced voluntary exit offer.
Eligible workers have until early December to decide whether to accept the offer and leave at the end of the year.
The new offer follows Microsoft's voluntary retirement program earlier this year, which made about 8,750 US employees, or roughly 7% of its US workforce, eligible.
The company eliminated about 4,800 positions in July and cut hundreds more in September, following more than 15,000 job cuts in 2025. The July reductions affected its commercial and Xbox businesses as Microsoft sought to reorganize sales operations and address challenges in gaming.
