In brief: Microsoft is cracking down on those employees it considers to be low performers. The Redmond company has laid out new policies and tools in an internal email to managers, which include a ban on internal transfers for poor performers and a two-year rehiring block on those let go.
In an internal email seen by Business Insider, Microsoft's new chief people officer Amy Coleman wrote about new and enhanced tools that would help accelerate high performance and swiftly address low performance.
The email adds that the tools will help "foster a culture of accountability and growth." Employees who are not meeting expectations will be put on Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs), which are described as a new globally consistent approach to set clear expectations and a timeline for improvement.
Those who don't meet expectations also have the option to leave voluntarily under a new exit plan called the Global Voluntary Separation Agreement (GVSA), which comes with a separation offer.
At the start of the year, Microsoft confirmed it was implementing performance-based layoffs, though it said those let go would be replaced with new hires. The company rates employees on a scale of 0 to 200 and bases their stock awards and bonuses on this rating. Anyone in the 60 to 80 range – 100 is average – is rated as a lower performer.
Those employees who have poor ratings that fall between 0 and 60 will no longer be allowed to apply for different roles within the company. Anyone who leaves during or after a PIP will not be allowed to reapply for jobs at Microsoft until two years after their termination date.
The email also states that managers will have access to scenario-based, AI-supported tools designed to help prepare them for "constructive or challenging conversations" by practicing in an interactive environment. Presumably, that means an AI simulating what it's like to tell someone they are in danger of losing their job.
Meta has also been making layoffs that are supposedly based on employees' performance, though there are several reports claiming many of those fired received average or even good reviews during their time at the company. It's led to claims that, much like the return-to-office mandate, companies are simply cutting their workforces without making official and more costly layoffs.
Masthead credit: Wonderlane