cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/73939581
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- ParlimentOfDoom@piefed.zipEnglish7 days
Offering buyouts to 60k people is not the same as looking to remove 60k employees. A lot of those people are not going to take them, and MS has that factor into the number they offered.
- 7 days
But its also not not the same as looking to remove 60k employees. Right before my company did forced layoffs, they offered voluntary packages like this with the stipulation that if enough people didnt take them, it’d transform into involuntary layoffs.
They are offering this to 60k employees and should all of them take it, that’s 60k fewer employees at the end of the day. Of course it’s unlikely for that to happen but not impossible meaning they’re prepared to lose all of these people.
- jj4211@lemmy.worldEnglish7 days
I don’t know the details of the microsoft offer, but at another company we had a few of them, and the ‘fine print’ was:
- If too many people applied to participate, the company reserved the right to deny applicants
- If someone was deemed too critical, executives reserved the right to reject individual cases
So offering to 60k does not mean they actually accept the risk of all 60k leaving.
More interesting is the logic of a ‘buyout’. Now the superficial assumption is that it’s better for morale, but as you saw, it’s pretty much certain that morale will be hurt by an involuntary layoff action anyway after the buyout. But maybe you could argue the hit was softened by the buyout earlier…
However, I think the actual goal is to disproportionately get the people in their 60s, the folks that given the right ‘nudge’ will just nope out into retirement. They would love to do that in layoffs, but historically that has hit age discrimination suits. Whenever we had a farewell celebration in a buyout, the people were mostly people at retirement age.
- godsammitdam@lemmy.zipEnglish7 days
That’s what they did with the first VEO, where it was available to anyone who’s age and years of service added up to 70. In order it went 15K layoffs, VEO for 70+ which 30% took, then another 5K layoffs after it closed.
Now it’s just everybody on your team if your team is eligible. Managers also weren’t informed beforehand as they were included as well.
With my friend, they got the offer, so did their entire team they talked to as well as their manager and their skip. And that’s across Azure, the real money maker, and Teams - CoPilot.
- 8 days
Yup, exactly what we need to fix the AI/Human Slop software they have been spitting out for a few years now.
- deleted@lemmy.worldEnglish7 days
I believe they knew they’re losing the pc market.
They dismantled windows team like 6 months ago.Edit: I could not find a source.
- 7 days
Losing to who? Use any office PC anywhere and it’s almost guaranteed to be a Windows PC.
- Encrypt-Keeper@lemmy.worldEnglish7 days
Actually what’s funny is now that companies are using Active Directory and on prem infrastructure like file servers and whatnot less and less, I’ve seen a big resurgence in MacBooks in the enterprise space.
7 daysMaybe the home PC market, but they havent cared about that segment in a long time.
- deleted@lemmy.worldEnglish7 days
I admit it that I couldn’t find a source.
I remember reading an article posted here on lemmy around the time Asha Sharma shared her email to all Xbox employees about job cuts taking about how Microsoft focused on cloud and AI to the point they move around 4k engineers working as Windows team to other teams.
Very good. If it all goes up in flames nobody will have a copy and nothing of value will be lost.
- justlemmyin@lemmy.worldEnglish7 days
Makes sense, the line must go up at all cost. This years profit has to be way way way WAY bigger than last years, otherwise what is even the point of running a multi trillion dollar business.
- pipi1234@lemmy.worldEnglish7 days
At that point you might as well try to improve life for everyone on earth right?
Unless you are a fucking piece of shit.
- 7 days
Yes, sadly. Microsoft made 193 billion dollars in profit in 2025, and has only made $225 billion dollars in profit this year. The investors are basically starving to death
- Warl0k3@lemmy.worldEnglish8 days
including those working in AI experiences, Copilot, finance, human resources, Xbox and Windows + Devices
Joy. Well, maybe that means they’re moving away from copilot…
- ddssazsa@piefed.socialEnglish8 days
Why would they fire AI ‘marketting’ division to fund AI investments? you’re to push back on that, there are not in fact 5D chess?
- jj4211@lemmy.worldEnglish7 days
‘AI experiences’ go in favor of moar datacenter for AI bros to play with.
Basically the infrastructure play has started running out of loans, and the market is switching to who can secure the most debt in a stingy market. So moves like this try to mitigate the hit to credit ratings, trying to avoid what has happened to Oracle for example.
- Pappabosley@lemmy.worldEnglish7 days
Possibly because AI scam is moving into the consolidation phase where a handful of large companies will own it all and they don’t really have to market any more
- ddssazsa@piefed.socialEnglish7 days
Yeah but tech division that is shoving copilot everywhere is not 🤷
- cryptix@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish7 days
That would be great for Linux adoption. I’m all in with this news.
- 7 days
Hire to create the illusion of growth, fire to create the illusion of competence. Rinse and repeat ad infinitum.
