Google is offering voluntary buyouts to select employees in its global business organization (GBO), targeting staff who may not be completely sold on its current pace and AI-focused direction.

Google’s chief business officer, Philipp Schindler, sent an email to staff earlier this week, which Business Insider viewed. In the leaked email, the executive informed employees of the buyout, stating that 2025 was a successful year, but the company is pushing for higher intensity this year. 

“We’re starting the year in a strong position thanks to everything you accomplished in 2025,” Schindler wrote in the memo. “But the game is dynamic, the pace is electric, and the stakes are high.”

It’s unclear how much severance pay Google is including with this buyout offer. However, last year, CNBC reported that Google offered employees in some organizations at least 14 weeks’ pay plus one additional week for every full year of service as part of a separate buyout. 

Who does the buyout affect?

Google limited the buyout program to certain roles within GBO in the U.S., including solutions teams and corporate development. Customer sales and other customer-facing positions are not eligible. 

Schindler wrote that “all GBO functions are essential” but that the company chose not to offer buyouts in certain categories to “limit as much disruption to our customers as possible.”

The exit program is voluntary and structured as an option for people who feel misaligned with Google’s new fast pace or direction. Schindler explicitly mentioned that the program was for employees who are not “enjoying the pace we need to operate in” or who feel “ready to move on from Google.” 

Do buyouts arrive before layoffs?

Priya Rathod, a career expert at Indeed, told MarketWatch last year that buyouts often precede layoffs, but not always. Companies frequently offer voluntary buyouts first to reduce headcount more gently. If too few people accept, they may resort to involuntary layoffs to meet cost-cutting targets. However, a buyout can also be a standalone cost-saving measure, and some employees who decline an offer may keep their jobs for years without being laid off, per Rathod. 

“When considering a buyout, an employee should consider how likely a layoff is,” Rathod told MarketWatch. “It’s very individualized. A buyout can be a safer exit if they think their area of work is high-risk.”

Past Google buyout programs

The new GBO offer is the latest in a series of voluntary exit initiatives across different parts of Google. In June 2025, the company extended buyouts to U.S.-based employees on its search, advertising, research and engineering units. At around the same time, it tightened its return-to-office mandates for remote workers, offering buyouts to those unwilling to comply. 

In October 2025, Google offered buyouts to YouTube employees during a reorganization.

Google reported employing more than 100,000 people full-time in the U.S. at the end of 2024. 

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