After Microsoft, Google announces Voluntary Exit Offer to employees in 5 countries

New Delhi: After Microsoft, Alphabet's Google has reportedly expanded employee buyout offers to employee in five ‌countries. A report in Reuters said that Google began offering voluntary exit packages in June to some employees in Canada, France, Germany, Japan ​and Switzerland.

The voluntary exit offer is reportedly being offered to employees to counter the rising costs on artificial intelligence investment.

The news comes couple of days after Microsoft has offered voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees across four countries including India. As part of the company’s global plan, Microsoft is offering 60,000 employees in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and India a voluntary departure scheme.

The buyout offer is available to employees up to Level 70 and below. This bracket covers a vast majority of the company's workforce that includes entry level engineers, mid-management and senior roles.

According to an internal company memo by Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s Chief People Officer, the program is designed for eligible staff who are ready to explore career opportunities outside the company.

"Today, we're introducing a new Voluntary Exit Offer (VEO) to eligible employees within participating organisations. This offer gives eligible employees who may be considering a future outside the company a new choice to make that transition now with support," Coleman stated in the communication. "It also gives participating organisations another way to adapt their workforce to changing needs."

The buyout offer, as per the memo, will provide departing employees with financial compensation packages alongside dedicated career planning resources. Micosoft though has clarified that the buyout scheme will not be applied universally across all internal teams.

"Some organisations are providing the Voluntary Exit Offer, and some are not. Participation varies based on each business's priorities, customer commitments and workforce needs," Coleman said. He further noted that eligible individuals would receive emails containing specific offer details.

"The Voluntary Exit Offer is new for us. We'll learn from it," Coleman wrote. "At the same time, we'll keep helping people focus on the work that matters most, build new skills and, where it makes sense, find new opportunities across Microsoft. There is no one-size-fits-all approach for every team or every employee."