Microsoft offers parachutes to 60k employees if they jump by the end of the year

Microsoft, on Monday, announced a voluntary exit offer open to about one quarter of its employees.

The company’s HR chief, Amy Coleman, explained the deal in a letter later posted to Redmond's corporate blog. While scant on specifics, Coleman’s note dangles an opportunity for anyone considering a move to get out while the getting’s good.

Eligible employees in participating organizations “who may be considering a future outside the company,” Coleman wrote, can seize “the opportunity to leave Microsoft with financial support and career planning resources."

Microsoft tells us that 60,000 of its employees in the UK, US, Canada, and India are being given the opportunity to take the VEO. Microsoft told us it isn't classifying the deal as a buyout since no one is being incentivized to leave. We’re told that the offer is akin to a standard severance deal in terms of monetary and career assistance bonuses. …