Google has expanded its voluntary exit programme to employees in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland as it looks to manage costs amid growing investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing.
According to the reports, the company confirmed that it began extending the severance offers in June. A Google spokesperson said some teams had introduced voluntary exit programmes in 2025 before the initiative was expanded to additional countries.
The company has not disclosed how many employees have accepted the latest offers.
The programme does not cover all divisions. Google Cloud and its AI research unit DeepMind, which remain key hiring priorities, are excluded from the latest round, following the approach taken in earlier schemes.
In Switzerland, where Google employs around 5,000 people and operates a major engineering centre in Zurich, employees received the offers in mid-June and were informed of decisions by mid-July.
Those who accepted began leaving in August. The package included one month’s salary for every year of service, capped at 12 months. At least four employees from a team of around 50 reportedly accepted the offer.
The move comes as technology companies reassess workforce requirements amid rising AI expenses.
Microsoft has also announced voluntary buyouts for around 60,000 employees across the US, Canada, India and the UK, with eligible staff set to leave by the end of December.
The offer covers employees at level 70 or below, representing around 27 per cent of its 223,000-strong workforce.
Microsoft’s move follows a voluntary retirement programme in April and job cuts affecting 4,800 employees in July.
