Google Expands Voluntary Buyouts to Workers in Five More Countries
Google has offered voluntary buyouts to selected employees in five more countries as it looks to manage costs while investing heavily in artificial intelligence.
The offers began in June and were made to some workers in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland. How many employees accepted them is not known. Google said it started voluntary exit programs with severance in some teams in 2025, then expanded the program to several countries over the summer.
The move comes as Alphabet, Google’s parent company, faces investor concerns about the scale of its AI spending. Its workforce has grown in recent quarters, but the company is also shifting resources toward areas it considers a higher priority.
Google continues to hire in AI and cloud computing. At the same time, the buyouts appear intended to reduce staffing in parts of the business seen as less central to its plans. Similar offers were made last year to employees in selected teams in the United States and Britain. Company leaders said the program gave workers who felt uneasy about Google’s direction a chance to leave with severance.
At least one division later moved from offering buyouts to involuntary job cuts.
Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi has said Google plans to keep hiring in AI and cloud, which she described as important areas for investment and growth. She also said the company was investing in marketing to support its AI products.
Earlier buyout programs did not include employees in Google Cloud or its DeepMind AI research unit.
In Switzerland, Google announced the packages in mid-June and told applicants the outcome by mid-July, according to people familiar with the matter. Employees who took the offer received a month of pay for each year they had worked at the company, up to a maximum of 12 months.
Other major technology companies have also offered voluntary departures as they try to rein in costs. Microsoft recently made buyouts available to 60,000 employees, covering areas such as AI experiences, Copilot, finance, human resources, Xbox and Windows and Devices. Marketing, commercial business and security teams were excluded.
Microsoft’s chief people officer, Amy Coleman, said the offer was intended to help eligible employees considering a move outside the company make that transition with financial support.
The programs highlight the financial pressure on technology companies racing to build AI capabilities. Spending on data centers, advanced chips and computing infrastructure is climbing, while investors weigh how quickly those investments might produce lasting returns.
