Google expands voluntary exit program globally amid rising AI costs
Dagen McDowell warns that Alphabet is destroying its search monopoly by spending billions to replace paid search with AI summaries. She questions where future profits will come from as monetization declines.
Google is extending its buyout program to selected workers in five additional countries as the company looks for ways to control expenses while pouring money into artificial intelligence programs.
The company told Reuters that select workers in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland were offered buyouts beginning in June, although the number of employees who accepted was unclear.
FOX Business has reached out to Google for comment.
“In 2025, some of our teams introduced a voluntary exit program with severance,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters. “This past summer, in June, we expanded this program globally in a few countries to support our important work ahead.”
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Google has expanded employee buyout offers to multiple countries this year. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The buyouts come as Google’s heavy AI spending has worried investors and weighed on parent company Alphabet’s stock price.
Alphabet’s workforce has continued to grow in recent quarters, but it wants to reallocate resources toward areas it views as higher priorities.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOOG | ALPHABET INC. | 283.93 | +2.19 | +0.78% |
| GOOGL | ALPHABET INC. | 284.78 | +2.21 | +0.78% |
While the company has continued to prioritize hiring in AI and cloud computing, its voluntary buyout programs suggest an effort to move resources away from areas considered less vital to its future strategy.
The latest round builds on similar incentives Google introduced last year for workers in select teams in the U.S. and Britain. Company leaders said the program gives employees who are uncomfortable with Google’s future direction an opportunity to leave with severance.
The company began offering voluntary exit packages in June to some employees in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland. (Raymond Boyd/Getty Images / Getty Images)
At least one division at the search engine company later moved to involuntary job cuts after first offering workers buyouts.
On recent earnings calls, Google Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi said the company would continue adding workers in AI and cloud, which she described as key areas for investment and growth.
“We also expect to continue hiring in key investment areas such as AI and Cloud, and we are investing in marketing to support our AI products,” Ashkenazi said on the company’s July 22 earnings call.
Earlier buyout programs did not extend to employees working in Google’s cloud business or its DeepMind AI research unit.
In Switzerland, Google announced the exit packages in mid-June and notified applicants of its decisions by mid-July, three people familiar with the matter…
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