Google expands voluntary exit packages to staff in five countries
Google continues to expand its voluntary exit packages to staff, reports Reuters. The buyout offers began in June this year to some employees in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland “as it looks to rein in rising costs amid heavy spending on artificial intelligence”. However, the new agency could not determine how many employees have accepted the latest round of offers.
“In 2025, some of our teams introduced a voluntary exit program with severance," a Google spokesperson said in a statement quoted by Reuters.“This past summer, in June, we expanded this program globally in a few countries to support our important work ahead,” the spokesperson added.Google-parent Alphabet's workforce has grown in recent quarters. However, the company seeks to shift resources toward priority areas, the report stated.Google’s latest buyout offers follow voluntary exit programsThe latest buyouts follow voluntary exit programs offered since 2025 to employees in some divisions in the US and Britain.
Executives then described the program as an option for employees who no longer feel aligned with the company's pace or direction. In one case, the company offered voluntary exit packages to a division with a round of layoffs.Notably, employees in Google Cloud and AI unit DeepMind have been excluded from past buyout offers. Google’s Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi has highlighted AI and cloud computing as key hiring priorities for the company in quarterly earnings presentations.Google offered voluntary exit packages to employees in Switzerland, excluding DeepMindAs stated in the Reuters report, Google’s buyout offer in Switzerland covered multiple divisions but excluded DeepMind.
The tech giant employs about 5,000 people and has a major engineering hub in Zurich.Google started seeing employees leave its Switzerland operations after offering voluntary exit packages earlier this year. According to the report, Google announced the packages in mid-June and informed employees who had applied of the outcome by mid-July. Workers who accepted the offer were eligible for compensation equal to one month's salary for every year of service, capped at 12 months.You use AI every day.
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