Microsoft’s first-ever voluntary retirement offer for 8,500-plus US employees: Here’s what’s in buyout package

Microsoft has finally put numbers on its voluntary retirement program, and the package combines healthcare coverage, cash severance, and a partial stock vesting bump for long-serving US employees who decide to walk away. The terms were meant to go live for staff on Wednesday, but according to The Verge, the company posted them on its internal HR website a day earlier than planned.

This is the first voluntary retirement program in Microsoft’s 51-year history. The company said last month it will take a $900 million charge in the current quarter to fund the buyouts. About 7 percent of Microsoft’s US workforce, or roughly 8,750 people, are eligible.