Microsoft's exit offer has the internet blaming the free dosa

What happened

On 26 October, Microsoft's Chief People Officer, Amy Coleman, published a short post titled "Introducing a Voluntary Exit Offer". It says eligible employees "at level 70 and below", in participating teams in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States, can choose to leave with financial support. It is voluntary, it is for a limited time, and not every team is offering it. In the post's words, "Some organizations are providing the Voluntary Exit Offer, and some are not."

The post does not give a number. That came from the press. KUOW, a Seattle public radio station, reported about 60,000 eligible employees, roughly a quarter of the workforce. A Microsoft spokesperson told KUOW the package is comparable to the company's standard severance, and that AI is not driving the buyouts.

It is not the first exit door this year. Microsoft offered a voluntary retirement programme in the spring, and reports say about 30% of eligible people took it. In July, Microsoft cut about 4,800 jobs, according to news reports.

The internet has a theory

Within a day, the jokes arrived. Old Instagram reels resurfaced, the ones with titles like "A Day in the Life of a Microsoft Engineer" and "What I Eat at Microsoft Office". You know the format: 9:00 AM, dosa. 9:01 AM, Mysore bhaji. 9:05 AM, a thoughtful look at the coffee machine.

On X, a user named Uday offered Microsoft a three-step plan, which News18 picked up: search YouTube for "Day in life of a Microsoft Engineer", and "you will get list of people who only eat but do not work in office". The satire account RoflKanth asked Microsoft, before finalising the list, to consider "that employee who's busy making Instagram reels". Another user summed up the mood more briefly: a few reel-makers had ruined it for everyone.

NDTV, India.com and News18 all covered the trend. Hindi media had already been here. Prabhat Khabar wrote up one reel about the protein bars and makhana available from morning to evening in a Microsoft office, and many commenters just wanted the job.

So, did the dosa do it?

No. NDTV said it plainly: "no verified evidence suggests that employees' food habits, workplace perks, or the lifestyles shown in these videos played any role in the company's decision." Microsoft's own post says nothing about food, perks or productivity.

The facts point somewhere much less tasty. The offer is decided team by team, by level and by country. It is voluntary, and the people who take it get a severance-style package. A reel about lunch does not decide which team a person is in.

There is also a simpler reason those reels exist. Free food, gyms and nap rooms are recruiting tools. Companies want people to see them, and many employees post them with their company's blessing. Eating breakfast at the office is not proof that someone does no work. It may just be proof that the breakfast is free.

Why it is not entirely funny

Behind the memes, tens of thousands of people now have a hard choice to make about their jobs, and some of them are in India. The jokes land because job security in tech feels shaky this year. They land on the wrong people, though: engineers who made a cheerful video about their workplace, not the people who decide budgets.

If you are a student watching these reels and dreaming of that campus, the lesson is not "never post your lunch". It is that a company's perks and a company's plans are two different things, and only one of them comes with a free dosa.

What to watch

• The decision window. Reports say eligible employees will decide in early December, with departures at the end of the year. Microsoft's post does not give dates, so treat these as reported.
• How many say yes. KUOW reports Microsoft expects fewer people to take this offer than took the spring retirement programme.
• Whether layoffs follow. Some outlets suggest further cuts could come for those who stay. Microsoft has not said so.
• The reels. They will probably keep coming. So will the free breakfast.