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Microsoft revealed last month that it plans to give long-serving employees in the US a chance Ability to voluntarily retire. While the terms of the buyout were supposed to be announced to employees tomorrow, sources at Microsoft told me that the company posted them on its internal HR website a little earlier than expected.
US employees whose combined years of service add up to 70 or more will be eligible for voluntary retirement, and the package will include five years of access to Microsoft health care coverage, a lump sum cash payout, and six months of vesting for unvested stock options.
The five years of medical, dental, vision and well-being coverage will be fully subsidized by Microsoft for the first year, but employees who take the voluntary retirement option will have to pay a monthly premium for the remaining four years.
The cash lump sum will vary depending on employee levels. Those at Microsoft’s upper mid-level (level 64) will be given one week of base pay for every six months of regular service, up to a maximum of 39 weeks. Those in senior positions at Microsoft (levels 65-67) will be given two weeks for every six months of regular service, up to a maximum of 39 weeks.
Microsoft is also including six months of vesting for unvested stock options with this buyout offer, which will extend to 12 months if the employee has 24 or more years of continuous service.
About 7 percent of Microsoft’s U.S. employees will be eligible for this buyout offer, or approximately 8,750 employees. It’s the first time Microsoft has offered a voluntary retirement program in its 50-year history, and employees will have 30 days to decide whether they want to take the package or not.
Microsoft said last month that it would take a $900 million charge in the current quarter for this one-time program, which… GeekWire Pointing It’s almost the company’s revenue day.