Google reportedly gives 'voluntary exit' to Android, Pixel employees

Google initiated layoffs as it entered 2024, and although no comparable actions had been taken but in 2025, personnel are feeling frightened approximately the future.

A current memo allotted to U.S. personnel in the systems and devices team has heightened those issues. The memo mentioned a "voluntary go out program," which guarantees severance for employees who choose to leave their positions voluntarily. This verbal exchange came from Rick Osterloh, the senior vice president overseeing the systems and gadgets.

Osterloh emphasised inside the memo that following the merge of two huge organizations the preceding 12 months, there may be substantial momentum in the group. He expressed a choice for personnel to remain deeply devoted to their project of building top notch products effectively. Such voluntary buyouts, however, are frequently visible as a ability signal of forthcoming layoffs if no longer sufficient individuals prefer to go away.

In April, google had blended its Android and hardware groups below Osterloh's management, with organization executives expressing a perception that this reorganization would expedite the combination of AI capabilities across their merchandise. By means of October, Alphabet's chief economic officer, Anat Ashkenazi, indicated a focus on reaching "fee efficiencies" at some point of the corporation, suggesting there was continually room for further optimization.

Although Google's Pixel telephones have not reached the sales figures of competitors like apple and Samsung, recent reviews suggested an upward trend, with the business enterprise experiencing its highest-ever quarterly telephone sales quantity in Q3 2024.

Meanwhile, some google personnel have all started circulating a petition urging CEO Sundar Pichai to take into account supplying voluntary buyouts earlier than making any involuntary layoffs. The petition voiced emotions of lack of confidence amongst personnel because of ongoing layoffs and highlighted that the enterprise's robust monetary role exacerbates the discomfort associated with dropping valued colleagues without clean motives.

As of now, this voluntary go out software appears to be limited to the systems and gadgets crew, with out a symptoms that it will be extended to different google divisions, including those focused on search or the deepmind AI crew.


Find out more: