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Microsoft offers buyouts up to 7% of US employees

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Re: Microsoft offers buyouts up to 7% of US employees

#71
post #28
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because "number of expected working years left" is a factor in evaluating common law severance.

I can see if it would be exact years working at the place not years left.

The idea is that a 60 year old will have a harder time finding a new job than a 30 year old.

Re: Microsoft offers buyouts up to 7% of US employees

#72
post #12

I feel like paying your most experienced employees to quit is exactly the opposite of what Microsoft needs right now. Paying to get rid of your institutional knowledge and experience is an insane move, especially as everything is on fire.

I'm laughing, having explained to my wife that if you are 69 and have worked there one year you are eligible for buyout/retirement.

The kid that started at 10 years old though, there for the whole 51 years: sorry, in another 9 years you will be eligible.

Hilarious that there is an algorithm.

Re: Microsoft offers buyouts up to 7% of US employees

#73
History suggests the axe may well fall on the remaining if a certain target head-count is not achieved.

Seeing a lot of layoffs lately in tech generally. My sense is that Corporate knows something that the rest of us do not. (Or at least that Wall Street does not.)

Re: Microsoft offers buyouts up to 7% of US employees

#74
post #12

I feel like paying your most experienced employees to quit is exactly the opposite of what Microsoft needs right now. Paying to get rid of your institutional knowledge and experience is an insane move, especially as everything is on fire.

This is what really "AGI" is.

Re: Microsoft offers buyouts up to 7% of US employees

#75
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you go about fixing the problem if you end up buying out all the people with the domain knowledge you were hoping to preserve? That's like burning all the treasure maps before you set sail.

Not saying a move like this won’t have any impact, but over emphasizing on domain knowledge is detrimental to engineering orgs. Some things will break, some things will be rediscovered by sinking more time, some things will be lost forever. But you also gain flexibility, fresh direction and the ability to move forward. When you work at a company for 20 years, you may be valuable when it comes to things that are done…

Microsoft is a services company with engineering roots. That can be a dangerous combination in the long run if they forget where their bread is buttered. I would hope the Windows 11 backlash serves as a warning that they can’t just ignore their customers in pursuit of a vision.

Re: Microsoft offers buyouts up to 7% of US employees

#76
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft uses React Native in their Start menu because the kids don't know Windows programming anymore.

[flagged]

Let me introduce you to a new concept: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man

Re: Microsoft offers buyouts up to 7% of US employees

#77
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends. Sometimes these buyouts are targeted towards groups that are toxic to the growth of the organization as a whole, like folks who have been around for a hot minute and have built up a cache of power but fail to use it other than for self-preservation or glory. I've worked in places where a handful of higher-ups nearing retirement block all progress because they refuse to learn anything new and are months or…

I wonder if Raymond Chen is still there :-(

Yes https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20260423-00/?p=11...

Re: Microsoft offers buyouts up to 7% of US employees

#79
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A job offer can be discriminatory, why not? "You were our only female candidate, so we're offering you the job"

Yes, that is exactly my point. "You were our only female employee, so we're offering you VR"

Oh, I see. The difference there, I think, is that you're illegally discriminating against men by doing that, which is not allowed. However, by law, you can't illegally discriminate against youth, so it's ok.
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