Exclusive Report – Google Offers Voluntary Buyout Options to Employees in Multiple Countries

Marleen Kaesebier/Kenrick Cai

Reuters Zurich, November 4 - Google, under Alphabet GOOGL.O, has expanded its employee buyout scheme to several countries this year, aiming to control rising costs amid substantial investments in artificial intelligence.

The search engine company confirmed to Reuters that it began offering voluntary severance packages to some employees in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland starting in June.

Reuters was unable to determine how many employees accepted this previously unreported round of buyouts.

“In 2025, some of our teams introduced a voluntary departure plan with severance pay,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement. “This summer—in June—we expanded the program to several countries globally to support our important work ahead.”

This move comes as (link) spending in the artificial intelligence sector continues to rise, unsettling Wall Street (link) and weighing on Alphabet's stock price. Last week, Microsoft MSFT.O offered a voluntary buyout option to 60 thousand employees (link) to control costs.

Although Alphabet's employee headcount has steadily increased in recent quarters, the company is seeking to shift resources to priority areas.

This latest buyout program follows previous voluntary departure offers to employees in select departments in the United States and United Kingdom last year. Executives have described the program as an option for employees who no longer align with the company’s pace or direction.

In at least one case, the company conducted a round of layoffs (link) immediately after offering a voluntary buyout scheme to a department.

Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi repeatedly emphasized during quarterly financial reports that artificial intelligence and cloud computing are key recruitment priorities. Employees from Google Cloud and DeepMind have previously not been included in the voluntary buyout plans.

The latest expansion of the program appears to follow the same pattern.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, Google employs about 5,000 people and has a significant engineering hub in Zurich. Three people familiar with the matter said the plan covers multiple departments but excludes DeepMind.

They said that after Google offered the voluntary departure scheme to employees in the country, staff began leaving gradually from August onwards.

According to these sources, Google announced the program in mid-June and responded to applicants in mid-July. Employees who accepted the plan could receive compensation equivalent to one month’s salary for each year worked, capped at 12 months’ salary.

One person indicated that in one team of roughly 50 people, at least four employees accepted the offer.

In 2023, Google laid off more than 200 workers in Switzerland, triggering protests and strikes (link).

(To assist non-English native readers, Reuters has automated its reporting translation into several other languages. Due to possible errors in automated translation, or a lack of required context, Reuters does not guarantee the accuracy of automated translated texts, providing them only for reader convenience. Reuters bears no responsibility for any damage or loss caused by the use of automated translation functions.)