Around 60,000 employees — or more than a quarter of the company's workforce — about will be eligible, a spokesperson told Business Insider, and the terms will be similar to Microsoft's standard severance.
27% of the company effectively surplus to requirements.
This only means that Microsoft really DOES NOT NEED H1Bs.
@cv Sad to hear your story, buddy. Nobody deserves to go through what you are going through. I wish you the best. May your future get better and may you be happy.
@cv Don't take the VSP and get fired anyway (with a worse separation package). Yeah, I'll take the better offer and take my chances.
The first bubble to pop in the AI pinochle Ponzi scheme?
If the stated purpose of the H‑1B program is to fill roles where there isn’t enough qualified U.S. talent, then a company claiming it needs to cut 60,000 jobs raises a serious contradiction. By definition, H‑1B workers are here only because the employer certified that no equally qualified American worker was available.
So if an American citizen at Microsoft is laid off before a similarly qualified H‑1B worker in the same job category, that’s not just unfair — it undermines the legal justification for the H‑1B hire in the first place. In that situation, the American employee has a legitimate basis to question whether the employer complied with the spirit and intent of the program.
The logic is simple:
If the company says “we don’t have enough U.S. workers,” then U.S. workers shouldn’t be the first ones shown the door.
As someone who was burnt out mid career and took the Verizon voluntary severance package in hopes of a better future, DO NOT TAKE A VSP UNLESS YOU ARE READY TO RETIRE. The grass is not greener and you’ll be lucky to land anywhere at all. VSP ruined my life and future irreparably. Every day has been a nightmare for 2 years and I wake up devastated every morning at what was lost. Don’t give into the idea that a little upfront cash gives you opportunity for something better and to enjoy a break. It doesn’t. My life is completely ruined. I hate every day I wake up. I exist now just to warn others not to do the same. DO NOT TAKE VSP.
What's the package and qualifications rules?
The Indian at the top is betting the farm on AI (all Indians).
@a5 a friend just heard from his manager that he is not eligible. He is an L64 SWE in a consulting team (sales).
Employees at internal levels 64 and below received one week of base pay per six months of service, for example, and employees at levels 65 to 67 will receive two weeks of base pay per six months of service.
As a long-term veteran who's been looking for the exit door, this would be a lovely golden handshake to see me out the door. Fingers crossed I get the offer.
Wow!!!! Anybody received the buyout?