Google Is Offering A 'voluntary Exit' For Some Employees After A Petition Signed By 1,400 Googlers Calls For Job Security

Over 1,400 Google labour signed a petition this week calling for overmuch business accusation and asked nan institution to instrumentality buyouts, aliases financial inducement packages to clip disconnected nan institution voluntarily, alternatively of resorting to wide layoffs.

Now, Google appears to beryllium taking them up connected their advice, opening pinch a buyout.

Google elder vice president Rick Osterloh sent a memo to each unit connected nan platforms and devices (P&D) squad connected Thursday greeting informing them astir a "voluntary exit program." All labour successful that conception were fixed nan action to clip disconnected Google connected their ain successful reside for a severance package of undisclosed value.

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"The Platforms & Devices squad is offering a voluntary exit programme that provides US-based Googlers moving connected this squad nan expertise to voluntarily clip disconnected nan institution pinch a severance package," Osterloh wrote successful nan memo. He said that nan exit programme could usage those who mightiness not beryllium passionate astir nan team's ngo of "building awesome products, pinch velocity and efficiency" aliases those facing problem pinch their roles.

Google confirmed that nan voluntary exit programme was happening to 9to5Google. The buyout only applies to U.S. labour successful nan P&D division, not to different groups for illustration Search aliases AI.

Google created nan P&D information successful April 2024 by merging nan squad responsible for devices and services, including Pixel smartphones and Chromebooks, pinch nan platforms and ecosystems team, which handled Android and Chrome software.

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Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated astatine nan clip that nan move was meant to "speed up decision-making," "bring nan champion innovations to partners faster," and "help america coming higher worth products and experiences."

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

In a petition created earlier this week addressed to Pichai by his first name, nan Union voices liking astir instability astatine Google owed to layoffs.

"Ongoing rounds of layoffs make america consciousness insecure astir our jobs," nan petition reads. "The institution is intelligibly successful a beardown financial position, making nan nonaccomplishment of truthful galore valuable colleagues without mentation wounded moreover more."

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The petition, which has been signed by 1,430 Google labour astatine nan clip of writing, asks for guaranteed severance that is astatine slightest adjacent to nan severance package Google offered successful January 2023 of 16 weeks of salary, affirmative 2 weeks for each further twelvemonth astatine nan company.

Google package technologist and Alphabet Workers Union organizing chair Alan McAvinney told The Register on Thursday in an email that nan buyout relationship is "proof of what we tin execute erstwhile we guidelines together arsenic Google's workers and sound our concerns."

Google fto spell of 12,000 labor successful January 2023 and astatine slightest 1,000 much a twelvemonth later. According to its latest nett report, it had a headcount of 181,269 employees.

Google posted better-than-expected third-quarter net successful precocious October, which saw Google Services bring successful $76.5 cardinal successful revenue.

Related: Google Says It Won't Follow Amazon's Lead With a Return-to-Office Mandate — Yet