Google U.S. employees are being offered buyouts across various divisions of the company, including those within knowledge and information, central engineering units as well as marketing, research and communications teams. As per a senior executive the buyouts are for those who “who don’t feel aligned with our strategy.”
Google’s knowledge and information (K&I) division teams announced its “voluntary exit program” today. K&I is the unit that houses Google’s search, ads and commerce divisions. Tuesdays’ buyouts are the company’s latest effort to reduce headcount, which Google has continued to do in waves since laying off 12,000 employees in 2023.
Google employee buyouts
The Google employee buyouts are the “voluntary exit program” that is applicable to all U.S.-based employees. Some teams are also mandating office returns for remote workers who live within 50 miles of an office, the company confirmed. They will be expected to assume a hybrid work schedule “in order to bring folks more together in-person.”
As per Google’s spokesperson Courtenay Mencini, “Earlier this year, some of our teams introduced a voluntary exit program with severance for U.S.-based Googlers, and several more are now offering the program to support our important work ahead”.
Google’s restructuring in 2025
K&I unit which has approximately 20,000 employees underwent a restructuring in October. At that time, Google executive Nick Fox took over the helm. As per Tuesday’s memo, Fox stated that employees who are not meeting expectations may want to take the buyout and that those who are excited by their work and doing well to remain with the company.
In October it was also announced by finance chief Anat Ashkenazi that one of the top priorities would be to drive more cost cutting as Google will lay off employees in order to expand its spending on AI infrastructure in 2025.
Google’s buyouts are the new layoffs
Google has done multiple buyout offers in a few units this year, a better strategy than laying employees.
- “Platforms and Devices” — the company’s hardware unit that consists of 25,000 full-time employees working on Android, Chrome, ChromeOS, Google Photos, Google One and the Pixel devices — offered full-time U.S.-based employees the option to apply for a buyout in January.
- “People Operations,” also known as the company’s human resources department, offered voluntary buyouts in February. Google’s severance package for mid to senior-level employees as part of the buyout was up to 14 weeks of salary and one additional week for every full year of service.
- Google’s legal and finance teams have also announced buyouts this year, a company spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday.
Why the transition by Google to buyouts
As per Fox, he’s been “paying close attention” to the other units’ buyout offerings. The transition to buyout came after Google faced backlash for laying off 6% of its workforce in January 2023.
Some employees earlier this year, praised Google’s decision to offer buyouts rather than laying off employees immediately.
Google stock update
Google parent Alphabet’s share rose about 1% on Tuesday; though, they have been down by 5% for 2025 so far.
