There seems to be a pattern emerging at Microsoft where some employees are going into their annual rewards discussions and finding out they are being terminated. Several employees have reported that people receiving zero or very low rewards are being exited, sometimes immediately. What is strange is that the treatment does not appear consistent. Some people say they were offered a PIP or a voluntary separation package, while others say they were terminated with no PIP option and little or no severance.
The reports do not appear to be limited to one team. People have mentioned engineering, CSS and parts of the Xbox organization.
It is difficult to tell how large this is because these appear to be smaller or individual terminations rather than one announced layoff event. That may also explain why there has been relatively little public reporting.
Has anyone else at Microsoft seen this happening during the current rewards cycle? Are these isolated performance exits, or is Microsoft using the rewards process for a broader headcount reduction?