IMHO this is being done to push out older folks who have been with the company for 10+ years. When I worked there a decade ago Microsoft was firmly established as the 'family person's tech employer--they prided themselves on having exceptional benefits and work/life balance for employees. The average age of a Microsoftie was a solid 10 years higher than other companies like Google and much of the workforce I interacted with were doing 9-5 working hours with plenty of vacation taken (you were getting 3-4 weeks vacation a year after about 5 years IIRC). No one was ever pressured to put the company in front of their family obligations.

I have a sneaking suspicion they unfortunately want to make the company less appealing for people that are used to that generous work/life balance culture (i.e. the oldest employees) and have them naturally leave.