Microsoft VEO Program: Giant technology company Microsoft has taken a big step on Monday. The company has announced a Voluntary Exit Program (VEO) for its employees. Under this special scheme, if an employee wants to leave the company voluntarily, Microsoft will provide financial assistance to him. It will also provide necessary resources for future career planning. The company has shared this information through one of its official blog posts. This new offer from Microsoft has been brought to the employees working in India, America, Britain and Canada. Around 60,000 employees of the company across the globe are covered under this scheme.

What will be the impact on Indian employees?

Microsoft currently has around 23,000 employees working in India. However, it is not yet entirely clear how many of these employees will be considered eligible for this voluntary exit program. According to information, employees in India who are covered by this offer have been given time till December 1 to decide. The company is sending an email to all eligible employees involved in this program. This email will detail all the terms regarding their exit offer.

What will you get if you quit your job?

The package offered by the company is similar to the standard severance arrangement i.e. compensation received at the time of retrenchment. If an employee accepts this offer, he will be given one month’s base salary for every year he has completed in the company. Apart from this, the employees will also get the benefit of health insurance. Besides, career transition service will also be provided to help them find jobs elsewhere.

For whose employees this scheme is

Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s executive vice president and chief people officer, explained the rules of the scheme in a blog post. According to him, this Voluntary Exit Offer (VEO) is for a limited time. This facility will be available to employees of grade level 70 or below in selected teams of the four countries. Microsoft has various internal job grades to determine seniority, including level 70.

Amy Coleman clarified that the program will not be applied uniformly across all of the company’s operations. Which team will participate depends on business priorities, customer commitments, and employee needs. Coleman wrote that for employees looking to explore their future outside of the company, this offer gives them a new option to move forward with support.

. In addition, this will also give the company an opportunity to adjust its workforce according to the changing needs of the various businesses. Coleman acknowledged that a voluntary exit offer is something new for Microsoft, something the company will continue to learn from. He also assured that Microsoft will continue to help its employees explore new career opportunities within the company along with teaching them new skills. No single fixed formula can be adopted for every team or every employee.

Company attitude towards investment in India

On the one hand, the exit offer is being discussed, on the other hand, Microsoft has made its intentions clear regarding India. A Microsoft spokesperson said, apart from India’s talent, the company is continuously investing in the technology ecosystem here. The company stands behind realizing India’s AI (Artificial Intelligence) dreams. To this end, between 2025 and 2029, $20.5 billion has been pledged to invest in cloud, AI infrastructure, skills and operations. The spokesperson also said that the company is on track to achieve its goal of equipping 2 crore people in India with AI skills by the year 2030.