Voluntary Buyouts Gain Ground in Tech Workforce Cuts

By Priya Raman

Microsoft said Monday that around 60,000 employees, more than a quarter of its workforce, could take voluntary buyouts in its second 2026 round, after an April program for thousands of longtime U.S. workers.

The latest Microsoft packages resemble standard severance. Eligible staff must decide by early December and exit at year-end. A spokesperson said Microsoft has no plans for another buyout at this time.

Eligibility combines age and years of service, which must total at least 70. The threshold can qualify people well before conventional retirement age. Microsoft launched its first broad voluntary retirement program in April and presents the latest offer as workforce reduction without layoffs.

Nearly 100 Google employees rallied in July outside the company’s Mountain View headquarters. The Alphabet Workers Union presented a petition signed by more than 4,500 workers seeking improved layoff protections.

At the event, participants argued for selective exit offers to become a broader, consistent policy before job cuts. They also sought eligibility for every affected team member, regardless of tenure. Google did not respond to a request for comment.

Alphabet said in July that its workforce had grown by nearly 12,000 over the prior year, reaching about 199,000 at the end of June.

Emma Jackson, a Google employee of more than 20 years and a leader of the Alphabet Workers Union, said buyouts give workers agency. She said employees nearing retirement might have taken offers during earlier Google layoffs, reducing how many cuts the company needed. She called the method more humane.

Outside technology, Skydance, the company formed by the merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, told employees Monday that it would require five days a week in the office. Employees unwilling to comply might qualify for a buyout.

Why voluntary buyouts are gaining ground

Many technology companies now employ people with decades of service. Repeated layoff rounds have eliminated scores of tech jobs in recent years. Buyouts have long featured in workforce reductions at legacy companies such as Boeing and General Motors.

For veteran employees, a negotiated exit may be fairer and less painful than dismissal. Extending that option to everyone creates a different risk: employers may lose people they value.

Laszlo Bock, a former Google human-resources chief who now advises CEOs, said: “Buyouts are becoming increasingly compelling for older Silicon Valley companies. They have more eligible people, and it’s a softer message for morale.”

Josh Bersin, an HR analyst and consultant, said forcing veteran employees out through layoffs creates a lot of bad blood.

At 47, Marisela Cerda, a principal customer experience manager at Microsoft, joined after college in 2001 and received an exit offer in spring 2026. She chose to stay because she could keep learning about emerging technologies and build relationships with colleagues. The offer made her think more urgently about her next career phase.

She previously said: “You move toward what you want more of, versus moving away from things you don't want.”

What does a buyout change for workers?

Employment attorney Peter Rahbar said workers should understand how an exit affects four areas before accepting:

• Retirement benefits
• Stock awards
• Deferred compensation
• Healthcare coverage

Depending on the company’s plans, employees who retire may continue vesting in certain benefits or retain benefits they already earned.

Buyout packages also tend to be more generous than severance offers. Rahbar said the emotional difference matters: people can feel good about leaving on their own terms, rather than being told to go.

He also said buyouts might not reduce staff as quickly as layoffs, but they avoid the same heavy morale costs for remaining workers and prospective hires. How employers treat departing employees affects how candidates view them.

The employer trade-off

Boston University Questrom School of Business professor Jay Zagorsky said offering buyouts makes labor reductions less predictable. If too few employees accept, a company may still need cuts to reach its target. Layoffs offer certainty.

Bock also warned that broad eligibility may prompt people employers want to retain to leave for competitors. The danger is greatest where a small number of employees create disproportionate value.

The report supplied no acceptance forecast for Microsoft’s second round. Its early-December deadline offers the first measurable test of whether broad buyouts can reduce headcount without layoffs, while Google’s petition and Skydance’s mandate test demand for voluntary exits as a standard first step.