Microsoft Puts Ousted Staff on Block List, Calls That ‘Good Attrition’

Microsoft is embracing two controversial management approaches that suggests the software giant is getting tougher on employees.

When the company ousts employees due to performance issues, it will now put them on a two-year block list that bars them from being rehired, according to an internal document viewed by Business Insider.

In addition, Microsoft will count these job cuts as “good attrition,” according to the document. This means the company is shedding staff that it’s happy to see leave.

These two tools are new for Microsoft and they’re part of a broader effort by the company to change its performance-management process to shed low performers faster and keep them out.

There are no goals for this “good attrition” metric at present — or at least BI has not uncovered any yet. However, this is already being reviewed at the executive level and appears to be becoming more of a focus as the company dials up performance expectations, two Microsoft managers told BI. They asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment.

Good attrition is similar to an infamous “unregretted attrition” metric at Amazon, which gives a goal to organizations for the percentage of employees they want to lose every year.

Microsoft’s new two-year block list is also similar to an approach used by other tech companies. Meta, for example, maintains internal lists barring some former employees from rejoining the company through systems that track rehire ineligibility, including a “non-regrettable attrition” designation and a “do not rehire” flag, as BI previously reported.

Overall, the industry overall is shifting toward more rigorous performance expectations and less coddling. Performance-based cuts are becoming more of a regular occurrence as tech companies get tougher on employees.

Earlier this year, Microsoft fired 2,000 employees deemed underperformers without severance and started a new performance improvement plan. A recent internal email sent to Microsoft managers, viewed by BI, disclosed that this new plan is “globally consistent” with “clear expectations and a timeline for improvement.”

The new process gives employees an option to enter the PIP or quit and accept a “Global Voluntary Separation Agreement (GVSA),” according to another email that BI viewed. Another document, also viewed by BI, shows the agreement includes a payout equal to 16 weeks pay.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected] or Signal at +1-425-344-8242. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.