TECH

Google recently made billions in profits, but is introducing a “voluntary severance” program for employees on the Android and Pixel development teams

Google started a “voluntary severance” program for employees on the Android and Pixel development teams this Thursday (30/01). The offer was distributed in a memo addressed to the “Platforms and Devices” sector, the company confirmed to the website 9to5Google.

Those who agree to leave voluntarily will receive a severance package, but no details were disclosed. In the statement, the senior vice president of the sector, Rick Osterloh, reinforced that the remaining team “must be deeply committed to Google’s mission” and “focused on building great products, with speed and efficiency”. “Google’s Platforms and Devices team is offering a voluntary exit program that allows Googlers on the team based in the United States to leave the company with a severance package,” the memo states. “This follows the merger of two large organizations last year. There is a lot of momentum on this team, and with so many important projects ahead, we want everyone to be committed to our mission and focused on building great products with efficiency and agility,” it continued.

Voluntary exit offers typically precede large-scale layoffs. If the number of expected cuts for the campaign is not met, the company must take action on its own and lay off employees compulsorily.

The “Platforms and Devices” team is the part of Google responsible for several of the company’s products, such as Android, Chrome, ChromeOS, FitBit, Google One, Nest, and Pixel phones. The department was launched in April 2024 as a way to speed up and streamline the development workflow for artificial intelligence features across all of the company’s products. While these voluntary layoff campaigns raise concerns about employee retention, there are also those who prefer them to happen. In an internal petition obtained by CNBC, employees say that the rounds of layoffs create job insecurity, but these initiatives ease the shock of layoffs.

So far, the voluntary layoff program applies exclusively to employees on the “Platforms and Devices” team. Therefore, employees in other sectors are not eligible. In addition, the total cuts that the initiative needs to achieve to avoid possible mandatory layoffs have not been disclosed.

mundophone