Microsoft and Meta, two tech companies, announced workforce reductions on April 23, affecting up to 23,000 positions. Meta is cutting 8,000 jobs (10% of staff) and cancelling 6,000 open roles, while Microsoft offers its first-ever voluntary retirement programme offering buyouts to up to 8,750 US employees whose age plus years of service equals 70. Both companies reported record revenues and are spending record amounts on AI infrastructure. The cuts are not about financial distress but about substituting human payroll for AI capital expenditure, reaching a total of 96,000 tech workers in 2026. The company is not cutting because it cannot afford its workforce but because it would rather spend the money on machines. Microsoft’s “Rule of 70” formula makes employees eligible for a buyout if the sum of their age and service reaches 70 or more. The move is seen as a benefit to accelerate the departure of employees least likely to transition into AI-native roles. The layoffs are part of Meta's efforts to run the company more efficiently and offset other investments they're making.