NEW DELHI, Nov. 5 -- Google has expanded its voluntary employee exit programme to five countries, offering severance packages to selected workers as the technology giant seeks to control costs while increasing investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing.
The Alphabet-owned company confirmed that it began offering voluntary buyouts in June to employees in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland. The latest expansion follows similar programmes introduced in certain divisions in the United States and Britain last year.
Google has not disclosed how many employees are eligible for the latest offers or how many have accepted them. The programme allows selected employees to leave the company voluntarily in exchange for financial compensation, rather than being subjected to compulsory layoffs.
A Google spokesperson confirmed the development to Reuters, saying the company had introduced voluntary exit programmes with severance benefits in some teams in 2025 before extending the initiative internationally.
The spokesperson said the expansion was undertaken to support the company's future business priorities as it continued to reorganise its workforce and allocate resources to strategically important areas.
The move comes as Alphabet faces growing pressure to manage expenditure amid substantial investments in AI infrastructure, computing capacity and cloud services. Although Google's overall workforce has increased in recent quarters, the company has been reassessing staffing requirements across divisions.
Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi has repeatedly identified artificial intelligence and cloud computing as priority areas for recruitment and investment.
Employees working in Google Cloud and DeepMind, the company's AI research division, were excluded from previous voluntary exit programmes. The latest expansion appears to follow a similar approach, allowing Google to retain personnel in areas considered essential to its long-term growth.
The voluntary buyout initiative is particularly significant in Switzerland, where Google employs approximately 5,000 people and operates a major engineering centre in Zurich.
According to people familiar with the programme, Google announced the Swiss exit packages in mid-June and informed applicants of decisions by mid-July. Employees who accepted the offers began leaving the company in August.
The severance arrangement in Switzerland provided one month's salary for every year of service, subject to a maximum payment equivalent to 12 months' salary.
For instance, an employee who had completed five years of service could receive five months' salary, while employees with 12 or more years of service would be eligible for a maximum of one year's pay under the reported arrangement.
The programme covered several divisions in Switzerland but excluded DeepMind. At least four employees from one team of approximately 50 workers reportedly accepted the voluntary exit offer.
However, the company has not disclosed the overall number of employees who opted for the scheme across the five countries. Details of severance packages offered outside Switzerland have also not been made public.
Google's latest workforce restructuring follows earlier efforts to reduce operating expenses while maintaining investment in businesses expected to drive future revenue.
In 2023, the company laid off more than 200 employees in Switzerland, triggering protests and a walkout by affected workers.
The latest development also comes shortly after Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts to approximately 60,000 employees as part of its own efforts to contain costs amid increasing expenditure on artificial intelligence.
Major technology companies have been committing substantial financial resources to AI models, data centres and specialised computing infrastructure, prompting closer scrutiny of operating expenses and workforce allocation.
Google executives have previously described voluntary exit programmes as an option for employees who no longer feel aligned with the company's changing priorities, direction or pace of operations.
However, voluntary departures have not always ruled out subsequent compulsory reductions. In at least one previous instance, Google followed a voluntary exit programme in a division with a separate round of layoffs.
The expansion reflects a broader shift in the technology industry, where companies are reassessing staffing needs in established business segments while continuing to recruit specialists in AI, cloud infrastructure and other emerging technologies.
For Google, the challenge remains balancing its substantial investment commitments with operating efficiency as competition intensifies across the global artificial intelligence market.
The company has not indicated whether the voluntary exit programme will be extended to additional countries or divisions.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.