Google has introduced a new program to its employees, offering considerable severance packages to those willing to leave the company on their own volition.
The program, dubbed the ‘voluntary exit program,’ is designed to provide financial support to employees who willingly opt to leave the company as the tech giant looks to ‘shore up’ its staff’s commitment.
‘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 statement from company spokesperson, Patrick Seybold, reads.
The incentivizing deal appears to be good news for the small Alphabet Workers Union, which has been circulating a petition pushing for Google to offer buyouts before laying workers off, SFGATE reported on Tuesday.
Seybold, however, has not confirmed any details about the program or whether or not the move was inspired by the small union’s demands.
Google, whose parent company, Alphabet, manages Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Android, is no stranger to layoffs.
In January 2023, the big tech company laid off over 12,000 employees, offering them a handy severance package which included six months of health care and at least 16 weeks of their salaries.
Some speculate the ‘voluntary exit program’ may offer the same, however such information has not been confirmed.Â
Google has introduced a new program to its employees, offering plentiful financial incentives to those willing to voluntarily leave the company. Pictured: Google headquarters in Mountain View, California
‘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 statement from company spokesperson, Patrick Seybold (pictured) reads
Alan McAvinney, a Google software engineer and the group’s organizing chair, likened the new deal to a ‘one-off program’ for a single division, claiming that it wasn’t what the union asked for, SFGATE reported.
‘We are happy to see material progress in response to our concerns,’ McAvinney wrote, ‘but we continue to demand that Google commit to practices like offers of voluntary buyouts and fair terms of severance by codifying them in its actual written policies.’
However even with ‘positive’ news on the horizon, fears of additional cuts linger.
Olivia Asemota, the union’s vice president, told SFGATE that the company is now performing reviews and that its chief financial officer is discussing cost cuts, sparking fears among workers more cuts might come soon.
Senior vice president Rick Osterloh told the company’s workers in the Mountain View company’s Platforms and Devices division on Thursday that if they’re based in the United States, they’d be eligible for the program.
The Platforms and Devices team was created last year and handles product mainstays such as Pixel phones, Android, Chrome, Photos and Google One.
The massive company, which offers a variety of products and services, including search engines, cloud computing, and software, also saw more than 1,000 of its workers laid off last January.
The company announced it was laying off more than 700 people from its San Francisco, Sunnyvale and Mountain View locations in four different notices filed last year.
The massive company, which offers a variety of products and services, including search engines, cloud computing, and software, also saw more than 1,000 of its workers laid off last January. Pictured: Outside a Google office near the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, California
Olivia Asemota, the union’s vice president, told SFGATE that the company is now performing reviews and that its chief financial officer is discussing cost cuts, sparking fears among workers more cuts might come soon
The tech giant also permanently shut down its Mountain View daycare center and firing teachers and school workers.Â
On January 11, 2024, Google announced it was eliminating hundreds of roles, with most of those impacted on its augmented reality hardware team responsible for Pixel, Nest and Fitbit.
Sixty-four teachers and nine school workers were dismissed from the center, according to one of the notices.
The cuts came as the big tech company looks toward ‘responsibly investing in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead.’
‘Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organizational changes, which include some role eliminations globally,’ it said.
The cuts follow pledges made by executives of Google and its parent company, Alphabet, to reduce costs.