Key Moments
- Google began extending voluntary exit packages in June to staff in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland.
- The program excludes employees in Google Cloud and AI unit DeepMind, consistent with prior rounds.
- In Switzerland, eligible staff were offered one month of salary per year of service, capped at 12 months.
Expanded Buyout Program Targets Global Workforce
Alphabet Inc.’s Google has widened the scope of its voluntary employee buyout initiatives to multiple international markets this year as the company moves to manage rising expenses tied to substantial investments in artificial intelligence.
The company confirmed to Reuters that it started offering voluntary exit packages in June to select employees in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland. Reuters was unable to establish how many staff members have opted into this latest round, which had not been publicly disclosed before.
“In 2025, some of our teams introduced a voluntary exit program with severance,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement. “This past summer, in June, we expanded this program globally in a few countries to support our important work ahead.”
Cost Pressures and Strategic Workforce Shifts
The decision comes against a backdrop of intensifying AI-related expenditures that have unsettled investors and weighed on Alphabet’s share performance. The article noted that Microsoft recently extended voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees as part of its own cost-control efforts.
Alphabet’s headcount has been increasing in recent quarters, yet the company has been working to reallocate resources toward areas it deems most critical. The new round of voluntary exits builds on earlier programs offered since last year to certain teams in the United States and Britain. Management has portrayed these initiatives as a path for employees who feel misaligned with the company’s current direction or operating tempo.
In at least one instance, a round of layoffs followed the voluntary buyout offers within a division.
AI and Cloud Remain Hiring Priorities
Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi has consistently emphasized during quarterly earnings presentations that AI and cloud computing remain central hiring priorities for the company. Employees working in Google Cloud and AI subsidiary DeepMind have not been included in previous voluntary exit programs.
The newest expansion of the buyout initiative appears to maintain that approach, with those areas again excluded.
Swiss Operations: Details of Local Packages
In Switzerland, where Google has approximately 5,000 employees and operates a large engineering center in Zurich, three people familiar with the situation said the expanded voluntary program applied across several divisions but did not include DeepMind.
According to these people, employees in Switzerland began departing in August after Google introduced voluntary exit packages in the country. The company communicated the offer in mid-June, and employees who applied reportedly received responses by mid-July.
Staff who accepted the Swiss package were granted one month’s salary for each year of employment, up to a maximum of 12 months, the people said. One source indicated that at least four individuals within a team of about 50 chose to take the offer.
Google previously cut more than 200 roles in Switzerland in 2023, which triggered employee protests and a walkout.
Program Structure and Exclusions
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Countries included in latest expansion | Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland |
| Program timing (global expansion) | Offers began in June |
| Key exclusions | Google Cloud, DeepMind |
| Swiss package terms | 1 month of salary per year of service, capped at 12 months |
| Swiss workforce size | About 5,000 employees |
| Prior Swiss layoffs | More than 200 employees in 2023 |
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