Microsoft not to rehire ousted employees for two years, considers departures ‘good attrition’

Microsoft has implemented a two-year ban on rehiring of employees who are let go for performance reasons, according to an internal document seen by Business Insider.

The move is part of a broader shift in the company’s approach to performance management and employee retention.

The company is designating these job cuts as “good attrition”. This term mirrors Amazon’s “unregretted attrition” metric, which sets a target for the number of employees an organisation is willing to lose each year.

The move is the latest indication that the tech industry in general is becoming more aggressive in addressing underperformance and streamlining the workforce.

Also Read: Tech layoffs: Google, Microsoft, Meta among companies leading 2025 layoffs

Sharper focus on employee performance

The new rehiring ban and “good attrition” policy are key elements of Microsoft's broader efforts to speed up the process of removing low performers from its ranks. This follows last month’s reports that the company is planning more job cuts in May, particularly within middle management. In doing so, it aims to better balance its teams by increasing the number of engineers compared to non-technical staff.

Earlier this year, Microsoft reportedly laid off around 2,000 employees deemed underperformers, without offering severance. This decision followed a rigorous internal review and performance evaluations, even among senior leadership.

Microsoft is not the only tech giant undergoing workforce reductions. Sundar Pichai’s Google has already carried out three rounds of layoffs this year, in January, February, and April. Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta also implemented job cuts in February, shedding nearly 3,600 roles, which represented around 5% of its global workforce.