Google Launches Voluntary Buyout Program for U.S. Employees Amid Workforce Restructuring
Google is rolling out voluntary buyouts to employees across several U.S. divisions, including key areas like its Search, Advertising, and Commerce teams, as part of an ongoing workforce restructuring effort.
The tech giant confirmed on Tuesday that its Knowledge and Information division—which oversees core services like Google Search—is offering a “voluntary exit program” that includes severance packages. In addition, central engineering teams have also been included in the buyout offer.
“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,” said Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini.
As part of the company’s shifting workplace strategy, some remote employees located near offices are also being asked to adopt hybrid work schedules to increase in-person collaboration, Mencini added.
This initiative follows a series of layoffs throughout 2024 and a significant restructuring in early 2023, when Google cut approximately 12,000 jobs, or about 6% of its global workforce.
Despite the workforce changes, shares of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) rose about 1% on Tuesday, though the stock remains down over 5% for the year. Shares were little changed in after-hours trading.
