What you need to know
- Google has announced a new voluntary exit program for U.S. employees that come under the Platform and Devices group.
- The teams behind Pixels and Android now have the option to voluntarily quit their roles, if they want to.
- They are also offered a severance package as part of the exit program.
Google has announced a new voluntary exit program for employees who are part of the Platforms and Devices group — the same teams that are behind Pixel hardware and Android software.
According to 9to5Google, SVP Rick Osterloh sent a corresponding memo to the employees on Thursday (Jan 30) morning, and the search giant has further confirmed the publication.
This comes after the aforementioned teams were merged into one division last year. The said “voluntary exit program” is applicable for U.S. employees only for services like Android Auto, Android TV, Wear OS, and the recent Android XR platform alongside a wide range of Google and Chrome products, which all come under the same group.
The search giant is also offering a severance package for the new program. Here’s a statement from the memo, acquired by 9to5:
“The Platforms & Devices team is offering a voluntary exit program that provides US-based Googlers working on this team the ability to voluntarily leave the company with a severance package. This comes after we brought two large organizations together last year. There’s tremendous momentum on this team and with so much important work ahead, we want everyone to be deeply committed to our mission and focused on building great products, with speed and efficiency.”
Another thing to note is that the program does not align with any changes to the product roadmap and is also not available to the entire organization, only to the employees in the U.S., as mentioned.
Considering Google’s handling of previous layoffs, this is a convenient move from the company as it allows employees to exit voluntarily. Since the merger of the hardware and software teams last year, employees are believed to have a better idea of their roles now. They may decide whether to stay “deeply committed” or move out—only they now have a convenient option to consider.