Microsoft is offering 60,000 employees a voluntary buyout. Here’s what the severance package includes, who qualifies, and what to consider before accepting.

Microsoft issues critical out-of-band .NET security patch after confirming impact of Google Brotli algorithm vulnerability, advises users to update as soon as possible.

On Monday, Microsoft said it will offer voluntary buyouts to eligible employees in select parts of the company. CNBC reports that the buyouts will be offered to roughly 60,000 employees, or about a quarter of its global workforce.

Microsoft is offering buyouts to about 60,000 employees in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and India, with no age or tenure requirement. The package is equivalent to the company's standard severance, and Microsoft expects a much smaller share of employees to accept than took its spring retirement program.

Around 60,000 employees will be eligible and the terms of the buyout will resemble Microsoft's standard severance offer.

Microsoft is offering buyouts to about 60,000 employees, or roughly a quarter of its workforce, as the company tries to control its head count while avoiding layoffs.

Workers in several major divisions have just weeks to decide whether to accept voluntary buyouts as the company moves to reduce costs. Microsoft is giving an enormous swath of its workforce an easy out—if they want it.

That's over a quarter of the company's global workforce.