Software giant Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to around 60,000 employees.
Executive vice president Amy Coleman said some employees in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the US were eligible for the offer.
“This offer gives eligible employees who may be considering a future outside the company a new choice to make that transition now with support,” she said in a blog post on Monday.
“It also gives participating organisations another way to adapt their workforce to changing needs.”
The company had about 223,000 full-time employees globally as of June 30, according to its annual filing.
In July Microsoft said it was cutting around 4,800 roles and overhauling its Xbox video games division.
A number of tech companies, including Google and Meta, have announced job cuts this year as investment in artificial intelligence rises.
The gusher of investment in data centres – likely topping $US700 billion ($A997 billion) in 2026 – to power AI has made memory chips, computer processors and other equipment, as well as electricity, more expensive. Economists expect it will continue to push up inflation at least through the end of 2026.
Microsoft has been ramping up its AI capabilities for several years.
In 2024 the company revealed a new class of AI-imbued personal computers that centred on fusing its AI assistant, called Copilot, into the Windows operating system for PCs, where Microsoft already has the eyes of millions of consumers.
with AP
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