Chris Welch is a reviewer specializing in personal audio and home theater. Since 2011, he has published nearly 6,000 articles, from breaking news and reviews to useful how-tos.
A year ago, Google started off 2024 with some layoffs. It hasn’t taken similar steps (yet) in 2025, but employees are fearing the worst. And if the Platforms and Devices team is anything to go by, there’s ample reason for concern. Google has distributed a memo to all US employees working on Android, Pixel hardware, and other projects that offers a “voluntary exit program” guaranteeing severance for anyone willing to step away from their role at the company. The memo went out from platforms and devices SVP Rick Osterloh, according to 9to5Google.
“This comes after we brought two large organizations together last year,” Osterloh wrote. “There’s tremendous momentum on this team and with so much important work ahead, we want everyone to be deeply committed to our missio
5 Comments
guiambros
[dupe] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42880529 (53 comments, 110 points)
jey
Hm. Why create this environment where the people with the most options will preferentially be induced to leave? Also the impact on the company project seems less predictable. Aside from avoiding the extreme difficulty involved in doing layoffs and choosing folks to let go, what are the upsides of this approach?
jonas21
This seems like a pretty bold and employee-friendly move. Google recently merged two large divisions, so there's going to be some redundancy. Most companies would resolve this with a layoff, but it sounds like they're trying a buyout at the request of their employees. From the article:
> Some employees at Google have recently been circulating a petition that calls for CEO Sundar Pichai to offer exactly this type of optional buyout before resorting to involuntary layoffs. “Ongoing rounds of layoffs make us feel insecure about our jobs,” the petition said, according to CNBC.
Conventional wisdom is that with voluntary buyouts, high-performing employees who have the most options will leave and lower-performing employees will stay.
We'll see how it turns out.
ericd
Off topic, but The Verge's bottom cookie banner is truly absurd:
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OnionBlender
Does this mean I shouldn't bother apply?