{
  "id": 170180,
  "title": "Microsoft retires 8-year-old employee tool; here's HR's message on shutdown",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/microsoft-retires-8-year-old-employee-tool-heres-hrs-message-on",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-05T08:45:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/microsoft-retires-8-year-old-employee-tool-heres-the-message-hr-shared-on-its-shutting-down/articleshow/132908356.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Microsoft has announced the retirement of its Perspectives employee tool, a peer-feedback system that has been utilized by employees since 2018. The tool allowed employees to request feedback from their colleagues in a low-pressure, ongoing manner rather than through formal review cycles. However, as Microsoft reworks its broader approach to performance management, the tool is being retired. Employees can still respond to existing requests and export their feedback history until September 15, but cannot initiate new feedback requests through the tool. The retirement of Perspectives is part of a broader shift at Microsoft, which is simplifying its performance review system and reducing the number of senior roles in engineering positions. Additionally, the company announced its first-ever voluntary retirement offer for 8,500-plus US employees, providing healthcare coverage, cash severance, and a partial stock vesting bump.",
  "summary": "Microsoft is retiring its peer-feedback tool, Perspectives, after eight years of use. The company is also simplifying its performance review system with fewer rating categories. This change reflects a broader shift toward a more demanding work culture in tech. Microsoft recently offered a voluntary retirement package to over 8,500 US employees. The package includes healthcare, severance, and…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}