Google has expanded voluntary exit packages to staff in five countries as it reins in costs during its AI spending boom, while its key Google Cloud and DeepMind operations appear excluded from the offers
Workers who accepted the offer were eligible for compensation equal to one month’s salary for every year of service, capped at 12 months. Google announced the packages in mid-June and informed employees who had applied of the outcome by mid-July, according to the report.
The buyout offers began in June this year to some employees in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland “as it looks to rein in rising costs amid heavy spending on artificial intelligence”. “In 2025, some of our teams introduced a voluntary exit program with severance,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement quoted by Reuters. “This past summer, in June, we expanded this program globally in a few countries to support our important work ahead,” the spokesperson added.
Google continues to expand its voluntary exit packages to staff, reports Reuters. However, the new agency could not determine how many employees have accepted the latest round of offers. Google-parent Alphabet’s workforce has grown in recent quarters. However, the company seeks to shift resources toward priority areas, the report stated. Notably, employees in Google Cloud and AI unit DeepMind have been excluded from past buyout offers. Google’s Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi has highlighted AI and cloud computing as key hiring priorities for the company in quarterly earnings presentations.
Google offered voluntary exit packages to employees in Switzerland, excluding DeepMind Google started seeing employees leave its Switzerland operations after offering voluntary exit packages earlier this year.