Microsoft puts some ousted employees on a 2-year block list and counts them as ‘good attrition,’ internal document shows

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. 

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

When the company ousts employees because of 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 — or at least none that B-17 has uncovered. But the measure 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 B-17. They asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment.

“Good attrition” is similar to Amazon’s infamous “unregretted attrition” metric, which gives a goal to organizations for the percentage of employees the company wants 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. It uses systems that track rehire ineligibility, including a “non-regrettable attrition” designation and a “do not rehire” flag.

Overall, the industry is shifting toward more rigorous performance expectations and less coddling. Performance-based cuts are becoming more common 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 B-17, said this new plan was “globally consistent” with “clear expectations and a timeline for improvement.”

The process gives employees an option to enter the PIP or quit and accept a “Global Voluntary Separation Agreement,” according to another email that B-17 viewed. Another document, also viewed by B-17, shows the agreement includes a payout equal to 16 weeks’ pay.