Employees Given Five-Day Deadline by the Microsoft HR Head

According to internal papers, Microsoft has adopted a new performance management guideline. The new policy allows underperforming employees to choose to take a reward and quit the firm rather than enrolling in a performance improvement plan (PIP).

According to various reports, the company is now providing low-performing workers who choose to leave voluntarily with 16 weeks of compensation.

 This strategy is similar to Amazon's contentious "Pivot" programme, which has come under fire for reportedly being created more to satisfy firing targets than to actually assist staff members in becoming better workers.

Microsoft Rolling Out New Tool to Enhance Employees’ Performance

Microsoft is implementing new and improved technologies to help accelerate high performance and quickly resolve negative performance, according to an internal email sent to managers on April 22 by Amy Coleman, the company's new chief people officer.

Workers on PIPs are now faced with a difficult decision. They are now confused with either to embrace the improvement plan with its strict performance goals or accept the severance pay and leave the organisation.

At the company, the separation programme is known as the "Global Voluntary Separation Agreement (GVSA)". The compensation will no longer be available to those who choose the PIP, and they only have five days to decide.

As per the poll mentioned in Coleman’s Email-

Would you consider taking a payout to leave the company if you were identified as a low performer?

•No, I would prefer to try to improve

•Yes, I would take the payout

Two Year Rehire Ban

Employees who quit during a PIP or after receiving poor performance reviews are likewise prohibited from being hired again for two years under the new policy. Furthermore, employees who are not performing at their best will be prohibited from transferring to other positions within Microsoft.

After months of performance reviews at every level of the organisation, Microsoft fired over 2,000 failing workers earlier this year without providing severance pay. According to Coleman's email, these modifications are meant to promote a culture of accountability and development while producing a consistent and transparent experience across the globe.

The year-round availability of the performance improvement process will give managers the flexibility to swiftly and openly address performance concerns while giving staff members a choice.

Layoffs Become a Typical Occurrence in 2025

With big companies like Google, Microsoft, and others continuing to reduce their workforces, layoffs in the tech sector are not expected to halt in 2025. Companies are still cutting employees in an effort to simplify operations, save money, and emphasise automation and artificial intelligence, even though these figures are much lower than the major layoffs that occurred between 2022 and 2023.