Google's Senior Vice President Hardware, Rick Osterloh, speaks during a motorboat lawsuit successful San Francisco, October 4, 2017.
Stephen Lam | Reuters
Google is offering buyouts to employees successful its "Platforms and Devices" portion up of expected cuts.
That portion includes much than 25,000 full-time employees who enactment connected Android, Chrome, ChromeOS, Google Photos, Google One, Pixel, Fitbit and Nest, according to interior documents reviewed by CNBC. The voluntary exit enrollment applies to full-time employees successful the U.S. It's unclear however galore of the unit's full-time workers are based successful the U.S.
"This gives eligible P&D Googlers successful my direct-reporting org the quality to voluntarily permission the institution with a severance package," wrote Rick Osterloh, elder vice president of Platforms and Devices, successful a memo to employees Thursday that was viewed by CNBC.
The buyouts are a awesome of expected cuts wrong Google arsenic it continues prioritizing artificial intelligence. In October, caller CFO Anat Ashkenazi said 1 of her top priorities would beryllium to thrust much outgo cutting arsenic Google expands its spending connected AI infrastructure successful 2025.
"Any enactment tin ever propulsion a small further and I'll beryllium looking astatine further opportunities," she said, referring to outgo cutting.
A Google spokesperson confirmed the buyout programme to CNBC, saying it comes aft the institution combined its Android and Pixel divisions past April.
"There's tremendous momentum connected this squad and with truthful overmuch important enactment ahead, we privation everyone to beryllium profoundly committed to our ngo and focused connected gathering large products, with velocity and efficiency," the spokesperson said successful a statement.
The "voluntary exit plan" whitethorn beryllium a acceptable for employees who are struggling to conscionable the demands of their jobs, the unit's hybrid enactment situation oregon whose passions don't align with the division's ngo and goal, Osterloh said. The programme is the "right adjacent step" for the portion arsenic it aims to "operate with much ratio and velocity," Osterloh added.
Employees person until Feb. 20 to enroll successful the exit program. Those who unpaid volition find retired whether they've been accepted connected March 25, a memo states.
'Offering buyouts archetypal is what we asked for'
Some employees praised Google's determination to connection buyouts alternatively than instantly laying disconnected employees, according to interior posts viewed by CNBC.
"The P&D email portends layoffs, which sucks but offering buyouts archetypal is what we asked for, is the close happening to do, and Rick deserves a batch of recognition for delivering," 1 worker said successful an interior station that received hundreds of upvotes.
Employees this week were circulating an interior petition titled "job security" up of expected outgo cuts, CNBC reported Tuesday. One of their asks was for the institution to connection voluntary buyouts earlier conducting layoffs.
Last week, Google said it would beryllium acquiring immoderate of the engineering squad from HTC Vive, 1 of the apical virtual-reality headset makers, to "accelerate the improvement of the Android XR level crossed the headset and glasses ecosystem."
In August, Google announced new AI features for Android devices and straight installed them successful its homegrown Pixel devices, a determination that enactment its AI successful beforehand of consumers before Apple could present its Apple Intelligence AI suite of features to iPhone users.
Though Platforms and Device is not the juggernaut moneymaker that Google's hunt ads concern is, the division's gross roseate to $10.66 cardinal successful the 3rd quarter, up astir 28% from $8.34 cardinal the twelvemonth prior. Google reported full gross of $88.27 cardinal that quarter.
Google, similar different tech companies, faces the imaginable hazard of rising hardware costs if President Donald Trump's broad tariffs spell into effect. Trump is expected to uncover much details connected which circumstantial tariffs volition beryllium placed connected imports from China, Canada, and Mexico successful the coming days.
In January 2024, Google laid off immoderate employees from its hardware and cardinal engineering teams, arsenic good arsenic workers successful Google Assistant, its voice-activated bundle product.
Tech quality outlet 9to5Google first reported immoderate of details of the unit's voluntary exit program.
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