Google offers voluntary exit to employees in five countries amid AI spending push

Google is offering select employees the option to leave the company with a severance package as it seeks to rein in costs while stepping up investment in artificial intelligence (AI). According to Reuters, the programme now covers employees in five countries, with the company extending the voluntary exit offers in June.

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The latest round of offers covers teams in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland. Google has not disclosed how many employees have accepted the offer. A company spokesperson confirmed the expansion to Reuters, saying similar programmes had been introduced in select teams earlier in 2025 before being extended to additional countries in June.

AI priorities shape workforce cuts

The voluntary exit option is not open to employees across the company. Google’s AI research arm, DeepMind, and its cloud computing division, Google Cloud, appear to be excluded, as they were from earlier rounds. Both divisions are among the businesses where Google sees a need to expand its workforce as it builds up its AI and cloud operations.

This reflects the company’s effort to streamline staffing in some areas while retaining and recruiting talent in divisions central to its future growth. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has been ramping up spending on AI, making cost management increasingly important as it pursues its investment plans.

The programme has already led to some departures in Switzerland. Employees there received the offer in June, and those who opted for it began leaving in August, according to people familiar with the matter. Switzerland has about 5,000 Google employees and houses the company’s major engineering hub in Zurich. The package included one month’s salary for every year of service, capped at 12 months’ pay. At least four employees from a team of around 50 are said to have accepted the offer.

Microsoft's buyout sets precedent

Google's move comes amid a wider shift among technology companies as they review staffing needs and grapple with the rising costs of AI investments. Microsoft recently rolled out a voluntary buyout offer that could cover around 60,000 employees across the US, Canada, India and the UK. The scheme is open to eligible employees at level 70 or below, potentially covering 27 per cent of Microsoft’s 223,000 employees. Those who accept the offer are expected to leave by the end of December.

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Microsoft, too, has been pouring billions of dollars into data centres and computing infrastructure to advance its AI ambitions. The latest buyout scheme follows a voluntary retirement programme announced in April and a separate round of layoffs that affected 4,800 employees in July.