Top Stories — Thursday, April 23, 2026
What is trending in the USA today? Here is Breaking News:
- Microsoft plans first-ever voluntary employee buyout for up to 7% of U.S. workforce — CNBC
- American Airlines CEO says merger with United would be 'bad for customers' — Fox Business
Microsoft plans first-ever voluntary employee buyout for up to 7% of U.S. workforce
Source: CNBC • Published: 4/23/2026, 10:06:03 PM
Microsoft will offer voluntary buyouts to some U.S. employees, a first for the 51-year-old software giant, as the tech industry grapples with major changes sparked by the artificial intelligence boom.
About 7% of U.S. employees are eligible, according to a person familiar with the plans who asked not to be named because the number isn't being made public. The one-time retirement program, announced in a memo on Thursday, will be available to U.S. workers at the senior director level and below whose years of employment and age add up to 70 or higher.
Eligible employees and their managers will receive details on May 7. Those with sales incentive plans cannot participate.
Microsoft has been ramping up capital spending on data centers to supply cloud clients with computing power that can handle generative AI models. Technology peers such as Alphabet and Amazon are doing the same. Meanwhile, software stocks are getting hammered as coding tools from Anthropic and others threaten to disrupt established companies.
Last year Microsoft removed some costs through multiple rounds of layoffs. As of June 2025, the company had 228,000 employees, with 125,000 in the U.S.
"Our hope is that this program gives those eligible the choice to take that next step on their own terms, with generous company support," Amy Coleman, executive vice president and chief people officer at Microsoft, wrote in a memo viewed by CNBC.
Additionally, Microsoft is adjusting the way it doles out stock to employees for annual rewards. The company will no longer make managers tie stock directly to cash bonuses.
This way, "managers have more flexibility to meaningfully recognize high performance," Coleman wrote.
Microsoft is also simplifying the review process for managers, so they can choose from five pay options for employees instead of nine.
American Airlines CEO says merger with United would be 'bad for customers'
Source: Fox Business • Published: 4/23/2026, 9:51:53 PM
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom rejected the idea of a United Airlines merger, telling investors on Thursday's first-quarter earnings call that it would be bad for all parties.
"The idea of the two largest airlines in the world getting together, that is something that we've viewed as being anti-competitive and obviously everybody that has weighed in suggests the same thing," Isom said.
"Bad for customers, bad for the industry and ultimately, that would be bad for American Airlines."
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said a merger with United would be "bad for customers." (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The company also issued a statement last week saying it is "not engaged with or interested in any discussions regarding a merger with United Airlines."
United CEO Scott Kirby floated the idea to the Trump administration in February, reportedly lobbying the administration for its blessing on a potential tie-up, according to Reuters.
President Donald Trump has since publicly objected to the idea. "I don't like having them merge," he said in a Tuesday appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box."
Kirby, too, downplayed the talks during United's first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. "We've seen a lot of press coverage regarding consolidation rumors. We've not commented specifically on those reports and aren't going to start today," he said.
He also noted that his comments were "in the past" and only being viewed differently because of recent press reports.
The United chief did, however, point to a "global trade deficit" in international aviation during the call, a key driving factor in why he originally pitched the merger to the Trump administration, according to Reuters.
United CEO Scott Kirby floated the idea of a merger to the Trump administration in February, according to Reuters. (Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images)
While United and American dominate the domestic market with 37% of available seat miles, its international footprint is far smaller, with under 10% of the global share.
United is seeking to aggressively expand its international offerings, announcing it'll be adding nonstop flights out of its Newark hub to Split, Croatia; Glasgow, Scotland; Bari, Italy; and Santiago de Compostela, Spain, by summer 2026.
American is enacting similar strategies, telling investors on Thursday's call that its forthcoming international route to Caracas will make it the first American carrier to fly to Venezuela in seven years.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby (L) and American Airlines CEO Robert Isom listen as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks to reporters outside the White House on Oct. 30, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
While Isom shut down a United marriage, telling CNBC it was a "non-starter," he didn't rule out the mergers and acquisitions route entirely.
"Of course, if there are opportunities from a consolidation perspective or if there's assets that become available in the marketplace, American has a long history of being aggressive, we've got a lot of experience," Isom said.
"Whether it is the potential for M&A or the work that we've done to pioneer partnerships, we're gonna be on the forefront of that," he added.
Read the full story at Fox Business.
For complete details, visit the original sources linked above.
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