What does Microsoft see coming that others don't?
30 October 2026 (Exponential View). Closing question in an Exponential View essay on Microsoft's 2026 offer of voluntary exit to a quarter of its workforce amid record margins and rising AI capital spending.
🤖 Microsoft is making room for machines
AI and jobs · AI and money · AI and hype · 2026
Who else?
What it refers to: Microsoft's bet that AI lets it grow revenue while shrinking staff, after offering buyouts to 60,000 employees despite record margins.
Other voices
- “Still baffled by AI capex? You should be” Azeem Azhar, Builder,
- “Tasks that once required at least five people could be handled by just one” Liangyu Nie,
- “Customers will increasingly measure the cost of tokens against the outcomes they produce” Satya Nadella, Builder,
- “There is no AI bubble” Dan Simkowitz, Investor,
- “We need to think about how to make sure we're getting productivity out of this” Ray Dalio,










