Google has widened its voluntary buyout offers to employees in several countries as parent company Alphabet works to contain mounting costs amid heavy spending on artificial intelligence. The company reportedly confirmed that since June it has offered voluntary exit packages to some staff in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland. The move follows similar programmes introduced last year in the US and Britain. DeepMind and the cloud unit appear to have been left out, mirroring earlier rounds.
The expansion, which had not been reported before, was disclosed by Google to Reuters. The news agency said it could not establish how many employees have accepted the latest offers.
Google's response
A Google spokesperson said some teams introduced a voluntary exit programme with severance in 2025. The company then extended it to a few more countries this past summer, the spokesperson said, to support "important work ahead."
Executives have pitched the scheme as an option for employees who no longer feel aligned with the company's pace or direction.
AI and cloud spared
According to Reuters, Google Cloud and the AI unit DeepMind have been kept out of earlier buyout rounds, and the latest expansion appears to follow the same pattern. Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi has repeatedly named AI and cloud computing as key hiring priorities in quarterly earnings presentations.
Alphabet's headcount has risen steadily in recent quarters, though the company has been moving resources toward its priority areas.
Cost pressure on Big Tech
The buyouts come as heavy AI spending has unsettled Wall Street and weighed on Alphabet's share price, Reuters noted. Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees last week in a similar effort to rein in costs.
In at least one instance, Google followed voluntary offers in a division with layoffs. Reuters pointed to cuts in its Android and Pixel group, reported in 2025.
Switzerland: terms and uptake
Google employs about 5,000 people in Switzerland, where it runs a major engineering hub in Zurich. Three people familiar with the matter told Reuters the programme there covered multiple divisions but excluded DeepMind.
The sources said Google announced the packages in mid-June and informed applicants of the outcome by mid-July. Employees began leaving in August. Those who accepted received one month's salary for every year of service, capped at 12 months.
One source said at least four employees in a team of about 50 had taken the offer.
