Microsoft workers criticize AI push as company offers buyouts

Technology · First reported 8 Nov, 11:16 · Updated 11:52

Image: Wikimedia Commons · NASA/USGS · Public domain

A group of current and former Microsoft workers says the company’s AI expansion is harming morale, adding workload and risking its climate commitments. Microsoft has offered voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 eligible employees in four countries; the company expects fewer than 5% of those eligible to accept.

The open letter calls for worker input and protections in AI decisions, community safeguards, and renewed commitments to environmental targets for 2030.
The offer covers eligible staff at level 70 and below in participating teams in India, the US, the UK and Canada; employees have until December 9 to decide and would leave on December 31.
Microsoft’s chief people officer said the buyouts are not linked to AI’s effect on work; the company did not rule out future layoffs.

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Key facts

Buyout offer: About 60,000 employees, more than a quarter of Microsoft’s workforce
Countries covered: India, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada
Decision deadline: December 9; accepted employees would leave December 31
Expected participation: Fewer than 5% of eligible employees
Quarterly profit: $36.6 billion, up 32%
Capital spending: $45.2 billion, up 30%