What Microsoft's Voluntary Exit Offer and Canva's Layoffs Signal About the Future of Workforce Strategy

• Develop an approach for adaptive workforce restructuring that aligns talent decisions with rapidly evolving strategic priorities and AI investments.

• Identify methods for retaining critical workforce capabilities, skills and institutional knowledge during voluntary exit offers, layoffs, and workforce restructuring initiatives.

• Apply communication strategies that help managers, remaining employees, and departing employees understand workforce changes and future organizational priorities.

As AI accelerates shifts in business priorities, workforce restructuring is becoming a recurring executive conversation rather than a rare, isolated event brought on by financial challenges. This webinar is designed for CHROs and for HR leaders responsible for workforce planning, talent management, organizational design, and employee communications. Attendees will explore what Microsoft’s recent voluntary exits and Canva's layoffs reveal about the future of workforce rebalancing. The session will also examine how strategic workforce planning can help organizations identify future workforce needs, protect critical workforce capabilities, and make workforce rebalancing decisions that align talent investments with evolving business priorities. Attendees will learn how to create repeatable restructuring capabilities that enable more effective workforce realignment . The session will address key challenges, including adapting talent strategies to changing business needs, preserving institutional knowledge during workforce reductions, protecting critical talent and workforce capabilities, and communicating organizational changes effectively. Participants will leave with practical approaches for building a more agile and resilient workforce strategy.

Return to this web page to watch the webinar. Contact us at gartnerwebinars@gartner.com with questions about viewing this webinar.

Want to learn more and discuss the implications? Book an analyst consultation to:

• Discuss workforce implications with Emily Rose McRae, Hanne Nieberg, LJ Justice, CV Viverito or Mike Warren.

• Discuss internal communications for layoffs and voluntary separation packages with Catherine Donnelly or Alexandra Earl.

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