Explained: Is Google asking people to quit?

Google reportedly is planning a third round of what is called a voluntary exit package (VEP) for employees in its global business organisation (GBO). Here is all you need to know about Google's voluntary separation plan for its employees.

What were Google employees told?



According to Business Insider, this came as an internal memo on Tuesday to employees from chief business officer Philipp Schindler. The memo read, “We're starting the year in a strong position thanks to everything you accomplished in 2025. But the game is dynamic, the pace is electric, and the stakes are high.”

Schindler informed GBO employees that they will have to be ‘all in’ on the organisation’s AI-first strategy.


What is GBO, and who all are impacted?

The GBO vertical drives growth for Google's ad products and services.

The programme is reportedly aimed at employees who may feel out of sync with this transformation or are not comfortable with the current pace of change.


The offer reportedly applies to teams within solutions, sales, corporate development, and certain other GBO functions. However, large customer sales teams in the US and other customer-facing roles are excluded to minimise disruption to clients, according to the report.

There is no clarity on the number of employees involved in the GBO team and, hence, those who may be impacted by this programme.

Is this the first time Google has announced a voluntary exit?

No. This is the third voluntary exit programme announced by Google in less than 12 months. It offered similar provisions to employees of other teams, once in June 2025 during a return-to-office push and again in October 2025 amid a YouTube reorganisation.

How is VEP different from layoffs?


In plain language, VEPs are subtler than layoffs and prevent companies from receiving public backlash and from landing in trouble as much as layoffs would.

Google has positioned this option as a way to streamline operations and reduce organisational layers without resorting to immediate layoffs.


VEPs can be considered as mutual decoupling, while layoffs are a breakup from one side. Although both lead to reduced headcount, there is a difference in control, legal implications, and company culture.

Is Google the first one to offer such a proposition?


No, in the last two years alone, several companies have offered similar options to employees. In 2024, SAP Labs announced plans to restructure 8,000 jobs for enhanced integration with AI, claiming to spend €2 billion to either reskill employees or to ask them to go through voluntary redundancy programs. Automaker Nissan also offered a voluntary separation plan (VSP) to select employees in 2024 and 2025. Another automaker, Stellantis, offered buyouts to some factory workers in 2025 in Detroit, Ohio, and Illinois.