Google’s latest round of layoffs is looking a bit different than usual, with the Chocolate Factory offering a buyout to employees in the recently created Platforms & Devices division.
The internet goliath confirmed the move to The Register in an email, saying that US employees in the P&D team have the option to leave voluntarily with a severance package. Google didn’t answer questions about what the severance package includes or how many staffers it hopes to shoo out the door, only insisting it was about keeping “the best” on board.
“There’s tremendous momentum on this team and with so much important work ahead, we want everyone to be deeply committed to our mission and focused on building great products, with speed and efficiency,” a Google spokesperson told us.Â
The spokesperson also mentioned the move was coming after Google merged two large organizations into P&D, so it’s also possible the buyout was being offered to shrink the combined team and eliminate duplicate roles.
Famous for its swelling Google Graveyard of scrapped products, from Stadia and Chromecast to DropCam and Reader, the Chocolate Factory created the P&D team in April 2024 by merging its Devices and Services Product Area, which handled things like Pixel devices and Chromebooks, with its Platforms and Ecosystems team responsible for software like Android and Chrome. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said last year the move was being made to “drive computing forward … at the intersection of hardware, software and AI.”
“Having a unified team across Platforms & Devices will help us deliver higher quality products and experiences for our users and partners,” Pichai said.Â
Why did Google go for buyouts instead of its usual ax swinging? Maybe only Pichai truly knows, but the Alphabet Workers Union has been lobbying for them.
The AWU, which operates without formal recognition from Google, has been circulating a petition regarding job security among Google employees since the beginning of the year, a union spokesperson told us. The petition called for the search giant to offer a better alternative to “ongoing rounds of layoffs [that] make us feel insecure about our jobs.”Â
“The company is clearly in a strong financial position, making the loss of so many valuable colleagues without explanation hurt even more,” the AWU petition argued, calling for guaranteed severance, elimination of employee review quotas and, most critically here, buyouts before undertaking layoffs.
“Voluntary layoffs must be offered before performing involuntary layoffs. Buyouts must offer at least the guaranteed severance package,” the union said, asking for severance matching or exceeding those provided during the January 2023 mass layoffs, which included at least 16 weeks of salary.
The AWU told us that 1,392 Googlers have signed the petition as of writing; Google reported a headcount of 181,269 in its most recent earnings statement [PDF]. It’s not a given the https://killedbygoogle.com/petition actually affected Google’s decision to offer the P&D buyout, and the biz didn’t answer questions to that end. The AWU, on the other hand, sees the voluntary exit offer as a win.
“The buyouts Google has offered today are proof of what we can achieve when we stand together as Google’s workers and voice our concerns,” Google software engineer and AWU organizing chair Alan McAvinney told us in an email. “We are just getting started, and will continue to demand that Googlers have job security as the company makes billions in profits.” ®