Microsoft has just announced a share acquisition program for a part of its employees in the US, marking the first time the company has proposed a significant-scale voluntary resignation.
This move comes as the company is stepping up investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing infrastructure.
According to the plan, the program targets about 7% of Microsoft's workforce in the US, who meet the "70 rule" criteria.
Accordingly, the total age and number of working years of employees at the company must reach at least 70. These are mainly long-term senior personnel, who are facilitated to quit their jobs with attractive financial support packages.
Microsoft said the program's goal is to bring flexibility to employees considering retirement or career transition.
At the same time, this is also part of a strategy to re-allocate resources to priority areas such as AI development and cloud system expansion.
In recent years, Microsoft has accelerated investment in data centers to provide computing capabilities to serve generative AI models.
The explosion of this technology requires increasingly large infrastructure, leading to businesses having to adjust their personnel structure to suit the new direction.
Microsoft's move takes place in the context of the entire technology industry undergoing profound changes. Many technology giants are forced to re-evaluate their human resources strategies to adapt to the rapid development of AI and digital services.
Typically, Meta Platforms (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) recently confirmed a plan to cut about 10% of the labor force, equivalent to about 8,000 employees. Not only stopping there, Meta also removed thousands of more positions being recruited to reduce costs.
Compared to Meta, Microsoft's approach is considered softer when focusing on voluntary forms, targeting senior personnel. This helps the company both optimize costs and limit negative impacts on employee morale.
However, both moves reflect a common trend in the technology industry: balancing between spending heavily on AI and optimizing the human resources apparatus. As AI becomes increasingly a strategic focus, businesses are forced to flexibly adjust to maintain a competitive advantage.
Observers believe that this restructuring wave may continue as the AI race becomes increasingly fierce, forcing technology companies to continuously adapt to avoid falling behind.
