Microsoft's 60,000-Worker Buyout Adds to H-1B Visa Uncertainty

Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to around 60,000 staff members, potentially affecting more than a quarter of its worldwide workforce. The tech company, already under scrutiny for its employment-based immigration practices, announced on Monday that eligible employees in the United States, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom would receive exit offers.

The Voluntary Exit Offer, according to Microsoft's chief people officer, Amy Coleman, reflects the company's evolving approach to change, providing employees with greater flexibility and options to shape their next career chapter. The announcement does not indicate layoffs; instead, it makes employees eligible for packages similar to Microsoft's standard severance.

The timing of this offer coincides with the Trump administration's suspension of Microsoft and seven other technology and consulting companies from the Labor Department's Permanent Labor Certification program. This program allows employers to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residence. Microsoft, a major user of the H-1B program, received 6,258 H-1B approvals in fiscal 2025, ranking third in the report behind Amazon and Meta.

The company's hiring practices are closely watched as the administration seeks to reform employment-based immigration. Approximately 6,000 of the 60,000 eligible workers are likely to be H-1B petition holders, with 80 percent of those applications aimed at extending or changing the status of existing employees rather than hiring new personnel.

Microsoft has 223,000 full-time employees globally, making the roughly 60,000 eligible for the buyout program more than a quarter of its worldwide workforce. The offer follows other recent layoffs, including 4,800 job cuts in July, and comes amid a contentious relationship between Microsoft and the Trump administration over foreign workers.