Microsoft is offering early retirement to roughly 7% of its U.S. workforce as the tech giant continues its aggressive push into artificial intelligence. The buyout program targets long-serving employees whose age plus years at the company totals 70 or more, according to an internal email from Chief People Officer Amy Coleman.

The company employed about 125,000 workers in the United States at the end of its fiscal year in June. Eligible employees must be at senior director level or below and cannot be paid by sales incentive programs. Coleman noted many have spent "years, and in some cases decades, shaping Microsoft into what it is today."

Microsoft joins other tech giants in trimming headcount to fund massive AI infrastructure investments. Meta announced plans to cut 10% of its workforce, while Amazon eliminated roughly 30,000 corporate jobs through two layoff rounds late last year and early this year. The four major tech companies—Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta—spent over $400 billion on capital expenditures last year and have told investors to expect even higher spending this year.

The timing aligns with Microsoft's fiscal year ending in June, with Coleman indicating the company sought to reduce headcount before the new fiscal year begins in July.