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# Xbox workers among 60,000 staff offered voluntary exit by Microsoft
- URL: https://www.verticalslice.news/xbox-workers-among-60-000-staff-offered-voluntary-exit-by-microsoft/
- Published: 2026-10-27T10:38:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-27T10:40:54.000Z
- Description: Don't call it a layoff.
- Author: Chris Kerr
- Tags: News, Xbox

U.S. tech giant Microsoft has introduced what it is calling a 'Voluntary Exit Offer' (VEO) that will allow eligible employees to jump ship of their own accord. 

[CNBC is reporting](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/26/microsoft-msft-voluntary-buyouts.html?ref=verticalslice.news) that 60,000 people are eligible for the VEO, which is around 27 percent of the company's total 223,000 person workforce. 

An anonymous source has told Vertical Slice that some people within the video game division have received the offer. [The Verge has corroborated](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1018666/microsoft-expands-buyouts-60000-employees-eligible?ref=verticalslice.news) that information via its own sources.

The news comes with Xbox looking to cut 3,200 jobs before the end of the current fiscal year in what is the [fifth round of mass layoffs endured by gaming staff in three years](https://www.verticalslice.news/a-disaster-for-developers-charting-the-rapid-erosion-of-xbox-game-studios/). 

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced the layoffs in July and has already carved through studios including id Software, Obsidian, Halo Studios, ZeniMax Online Studios, World's Edge, and more. Others such as Double Fine and Compulsion Games have been divested. 

[In September](https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/09/22/continuing-our-reset/?ref=verticalslice.news), Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty said the division's latest restructuring plan was around 75 percent complete.

The VEO is being pitched as a "limited time" offer that will provide transition support to employees who bolt for the exit. 

"This offer will be available to eligible employees in participating teams in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States at level 70 and below. This is a time-limited, voluntary program that gives those who are eligible the opportunity to leave Microsoft with financial support and career planning resources," [reads a note shared on the Microsoft blog](https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/10/26/introducing-a-voluntary-exit-offer/?ref=verticalslice.news).

"Some organizations are providing the Voluntary Exit Offer, and some are not. Participation varies based on each business’s priorities, customer commitments and workforce needs."

Vertical Slice has reached out to Microsoft for comment.