Microsoft is introducing a Voluntary Exit Offer (VEO) today for eligible employees at level 70 and below, offering financial assistance and help planning their careers if they choose to leave the company. The offer covers participating teams across four countries: the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. Microsoft says employees who qualify will get an email linking to their individual offer details within the next few hours.
Eligibility depends on the employee's organization as well as their level and location, with some parts of Microsoft taking part and others staying outside the program. Microsoft describes the offer as available for a limited period, but has not disclosed a financial package amount. The company says each business's staffing requirements, priorities and obligations to customers determine whether it participates.
Read more: Microsoft Offers Laid Off US Employees Up to 39 Weeks of Base Pay in Severance Package
The offer gives employees already weighing a departure the option to make that move now with company support, according to Microsoft. Microsoft also says it gives participating businesses an additional way to adjust staffing as their needs change. Amy Coleman, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, introduced the program in a message shared with employees today.
The new offer follows an earlier retirement initiative that targeted a different eligibility measure: employees' combined age and years of service had to total at least 70, and they had to be at senior director level or below. That earlier U.S. program covered about 7% of Microsoft's workforce in the country, according to a person familiar with the plans, with details due to eligible employees and their managers on May 7.
Microsoft says lessons from the Voluntary Retirement Program earlier this year helped inform the new exit offer. Alongside voluntary departures, the company says it will continue helping employees develop skills and, where appropriate, pursue other roles within Microsoft. Coleman said Microsoft would learn from using the new program, while describing different approaches for teams and employees as part of its response to varying business needs.
