India, Oct. 28 -- Microsoft is offering voluntary exit packages to eligible employees across India, the US, the UK and Canada. The programme, called the Voluntary Exit Offer (VEO), could cover around 60,000 employees. But that is the number potentially eligible, not the number expected to leave.

The move comes as Microsoft plans about $175 billion in capital expenditure for calendar year 2026, with data centres and computing infrastructure accounting for a major share of its investment push. The timing raises a key question: how will the company balance its growing AI ambitions with the cost of running its workforce?

Announced on October 26, 2026, the offer covers eligible employees at internal level 70 and below in selected teams acros...